Stuck in the Cove
by OkobojiOddOne
Summary: When Beatrice Jane "BJ" Houlihan and her best friend get stuck in Crabapple Cove, they are helped by a kind stranger who seems straingly familier. Turns out, he plays a big part in BJ's life and meeting him will drastically change and improve hers. H/M!
1. Stuck in Crabapple Cove

_Author's Note: This story just came to me a few days ago, so don't expect anything grand. It is set in 1967, 14 years (and about nine months) after the end of the Korean War. Also, I'm not really sure how far of a drive it is from Boston to Crabapple Cove, so just go along with the eight hours, okay? Okay. And like I said, this just came to me and might not be that great…so enjoy!_

"**Stuck in the Cove"**

**By: Cora**

"Hey Mom!" Beatrice Jane Houlihan, mostly called BJ, walked in to the house that she shared with her mother in Boston, Massachusetts, after she was done with tennis practice. She put her school bag by the door and walked into the kitchen where she knew her mom would be.

"Hi honey. How was school?" Margaret Houlihan, formally _Major _Houlihan was at the stove getting supper ready. Her blond hair was in a pony tail and she wore her nurses uniform since she had just gotten home from her nursing job at the local clinic. She had decided that she didn't really want to do much assisting in the operating room anymore, so she was now just getting a few of the people in Boston to say 'aw', and loving every minute of it.

"It was okay. A couple of the guys in wrestling qualified to go to the New England Championships, and there's a pep bus going tomorrow for anyone who wants to go. I was just wondering if I could." BJ walked over to her mom and gave her a hug.

"Would you be missing school?" Margaret hugged her daughter back.

"Yeah, but I got all of my make up work already just in case, so I could do it tonight. Can I mom…please?" BJ tried using her puppy dog eyes that had sort of lost their touch when she was nine and she was now fourteen.

"Sure, you can go. Where is it anyway?" Margaret stirred the water in the pan and dumped spaghetti noodles in.

"For some reason, it's in this tiny little town in Maine. It's got something to do with an apple and a cove in the name. Green Apple Cove maybe?" BJ grabbed a couple plates and some silverware and set the table.

"Crabapple Cove?" Margaret asked with a look of surprise on her face that she hid from her daughter.

"That's it! I knew it had something to do with apples. Odd name huh?"

"Yeah…funny." Margaret stirred the noodles that were in the pot, but her mind was also stirring.

"The pep bus leaves at seven tomorrow morning and we're not sure when we'll get back. It depends on how the guys do." BJ kind of noticed that her mom's mind wasn't exactly there with them in the room. She ducked out of the kitchen, grabbed her school bag and went upstairs to start on her homework.

"Crabapple Cove…" Margaret repeated to herself. 'I wonder if he still remembers me?' Margaret wondered about the only man she ever really loved.

After about a half an hour, Margaret and BJ were at the table, eating their spaghetti. "So mom, what's the story behind Crabapple Cove anyway? After you said it, your mind seemed to go somewhere else." BJ finally broke the silence.

"Oh, that's just where an old friend of mine lives. He was the chief surgeon of the 4077th when I was there…" Her voice trailed off and she looked at her daughter. She had dark black hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her nose was her fathers and so was her personality when she thought about it. She had never told her who her father was, and didn't know if she ever would. She loved him very much, but didn't even tell him about the baby that had grown into this beautiful teenager in front of her.

"Oh, I see." BJ broke the silence.

"Your pretty much named after his best friend too." Margaret smiled before she took a drink of her ice tea.

"What's his name? The one from Crabapple Cove. You seem to talk about 'the Chief Surgeon' sometimes, but you never really say his name." BJ asked her mom curiously.

"Hawkeye." A small smile spread across Margaret's face when she said the name. "Hawkeye Pierce…"

"Mom?" The girl looked at her mother, kind of worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Of course. Why?" She took her fork and took another bite of the spaghetti.

"Oh, nothing. You were just spacing off again."

"Sorry. Look, how about after we're done here and the dishes are washed, I help you with some of that homework of yours?"

"Um, sure. Okay." She laughed a little. "Are you sure you want to try to help me with my geometry?"

"That I think I'll pass on." They laughed and told each other stories from that day for the rest of the meal. After the dishes were washed and put away, they tackled the large stack of homework and BJ was definitely excited to go to the wrestling championships the next day.

"I still can't believe he made it! He was so close to loosing!" BJ and her best friend, Janie, just walked out of the rather small arena where the New England Wrestling Champion was just named, Matt Fletcher who was a junior at Beacon Hill High School. BJ and Janie were happy that someone from their school finally won. Wrestling was a big deal at Beacon Hill, although no one really knew why.

"I know, it was amazing!" Janie replied to BJ's excitement. "Come on, we're gonna miss the bus though." The Championship ceremony had ended about a half an hour ago and the parking lot was pretty much dead except for their bus. "Uh oh." the yellow school bus that they had come in had closed it's doors and was about to leave. "RUN!" Janie started sprinting, with BJ close behind.

"Is everyone here?" the bus driver asked the girl who was taking roll.

"Yes sir." The girl, Honoria Winchester, was very snotty and no one understood why she was going to a public school. Her father was the head of thoracic surgery at Boston General.

"Okay then." The bus driver took the clip board from the girl that had flipped her hair and sat down in a way that you just felt like slapping her after.

"WAIT!" BJ called to the bus as they were sprinting toward it, but it was too late. The bus was already out of the parking lot and on to the road. "Great…" she said sarcastically as she and Janie took a seat on a bench that was by the sidewalk. "Now what?"

"I don't know. I could try calling my brother." Janie had lived with her older brother for about a year since her parents were killed in a car accident.

"Or I could call my mom." BJ added.

"Isn't she working late tonight though?" she reminded her friend, looking at her watch that read 8:05 p.m.

"Oh yeah. That's pretty bad when I don't remember that and I'm her _daughter._" She tried to laugh, but she was kind of scared and upset about being left behind.

"That stupid Honoria. What the heck kind of name is Honoria anyway?" Janie got up and started pacing.

"She was named after her aunt. Unfortunately, I have to see her sometimes out of school." She gave a sarcastic shudder.

"Why?"

"Because my mom and her dad worked together in the Korean War. I guess her dad is just as much of a pampas buffoon as she is." BJ sat on the bench looking at her hands. "She HAD to have seen us, I mean she looked right at us!" Her temper was rising.

"I know. Look, why don't I call my brother? He could come pick us up." Janie dug her dime out of her pocket. "There's a pay phone right over there."

"Okay. Come on." BJ got up and the girls walked across the street towards the pay phone that was right outside a nice looking diner. Janie put the dime in and called her brother, but he wasn't home. She put another in and called her aunt, but she also wasn't home.

"Damn." Janie hung the phone back up on the receiver. "I'm out of dimes now too."

"Ooh, you just said damn…" BJ joked with her.

"Oh sit on it."

"Sorry. Ugh, I don't have any money either." BJ was checking her pockets for a third time when a man with dark hair, with quite a few grays poking through, and nice blue eyes walked by. He seemed strangely familiar to BJ. "Oh, sir." She stopped him for a second.

"Yeah?" The man stopped. The girl also seemed strangely familiar to him.

"I'm really sorry, but do you have a dime I could use. My friend and I just missed the bus going back home from the wrestling tournaments and I need to call my mom."

"Well of course." the man dug in his pocket and pulled out a couple dimes. "Here's two, just in case." He gave the girls a warm smile.

"Oh, thank you so much." BJ politely shook his hand and tried to get a hold of her mom. The man walked into the diner. "Ugh, no one's home. I though she would be home by now. Maybe she's at work still." BJ looked at Janie who was slowly becoming agitated and was pacing again.

"Could be." Janie agreed, and kept pacing.

When BJ had put the dime in the phone and dialed her mom's work number, the man that gave her the dimes came out of the diner and was walking by. "Is Margaret Houlihan there? This is her daughter, BJ." She asked the lady who had answered the phone. "Are you sure, I just called home?" At this, the man stopped and had turned around. "No, that's okay…no message. Thanks." With a sad look on her face, BJ put the receiver down.

"Any luck?" Janie asked, but with little hope in her voice.

"No, the receptionist said she left awhile ago. She probably went to get something to eat." BJ turned around and leaned on the brick wall by the phone and watched Janie pace.

"Excuse me." The man walked up to the two girls. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but over hear…did you say you were Margaret Houlihan's daughter?" The man asked with a smile.

"Uh, yeah. I am…why?" BJ asked, a little confused.

"Sorry, this must seem a little odd. I'm Hawkeye Pierce. I used to work with your mother." Hawkeye smiled and shook the girls hand.

"Oh my gosh…she was just talking about you last night. It's nice to meet you Doctor. I'm Beatrice, but everyone calls me BJ." BJ smiled warmly at the man.

"Well, at least it sounds like your BJ stands for something." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Mom told me about that. Beatrice Jane. Oh, sorry, this is Janie O'Donnell." She motioned towards her friend.

"Nice to meet you." Janie shook the man's outstretched hand.

"So listen, why don't I buy you a soda at the diner. I'm sure Millie will let you use the phone in there. That way it's be free." Hawkeye smiled and opened the door for the two girls.

"That would be great. Thanks." BJ and Janie walked in and waited for Hawkeye to follow them in.

"Hey Millie, will you let this lovely young lady use your phone, she's trying to reach her mother." Hawkeye asked the woman behind the counter.

"Well of course. Here you go." The woman put the phone up on the counter and gave the teenager a warm smile.

"Thanks." BJ smiled and picked up the phone and dialed her number. After a few rings, her mom picked up. "Mom!"

"Oh, hi sweet heart. Are you having fun?" Margaret asked.

"Well, we were, but when we were heading for the bus, it took off without us, so now we're stuck here. I'm really sorry." BJ actually kind of chocked up. She hated worrying her mom.

"Oh, honey…where are you?" She didn't sound that mad.

"We're in the diner across from the arena in Crabapple Cove."

"Okay, well stay there, I'm gonna come pick you up. Is Janie with you?" Margaret now started to sound a little worried.

"Yeah, she's here, but mom, that's an eight hour drive." BJ sounded worried.

"Don't worry about me. Just stay put and hope that the diner is open 24 hours a day. I'll be there as soon as I can. Be careful. Tell Janie I'm going to call her brother so he doesn't worry."

"Okay Mom." BJ listened to something that her mom said. "I love you too. You be careful too. Bye." She put the phone down and thanked the woman behind the counter for letting her use the phone and took a seat at the booth that Hawkeye and Janie were at.

"So?" Janie asked.

"She's gonna come pick us up. She's also going to call your brother so he doesn't worry to much." She gave a small smile since Janie's brother didn't really worry about anything. Janie also had a faint smile on her face.

"How far away do you live Beatrice?" Hawkeye asked.

"BJ, and we live in Boston." She corrected him.

"Sorry." He laughed at the correction. "That's an eight hour drive." His eyes grew some concern.

"I know. I tried to tell her we would take the public bus, but she wouldn't have that happen I guess."

"That _can _be dangerous." Hawkeye pointed out.

"Yeah, well…so could this." BJ looked a little worried.

"I'll be right back." Hawkeye went up to the counter and ordered a pop for each of them. "Here you go." He gave the two girls one and took one for himself. "Grape Nehi."

"My mom told me that your company clerk used to drink this. I love it." BJ took a sip of hers. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thank you." Janie added.

"Not a problem." Hawkeye laughed a little. "Radar…he was quite the kid."

"I've heard that." BJ nodded.

Hawkeye laughed a little. "I hear he has a wife and two kids now." He shook his head for a second, "I just can't see it." The man's eyes grew thoughtful. "So uh…how's your mother?" Hawkeye's eyes grew soft.

"She's alright. She has a good job in one of the little clinics in our neighborhood and I think she's happy." BJ looked at her Grape Nehi with a thoughtful look on her own face. "She does seem to be lonely sometimes though."

"Did she get married again?" He asked.

"No, it's always been just my mom and I. She doesn't date much either. She says she left half of her heart on the lips of a man over 14 years ago in Korea. Don't ask what _that _means. I have no idea." She chuckled softly and continued, "then she says that the other half is with me."

Hawkeye smiled and contemplated that for a moment. He also had the same thoughts, but his included his whole heart on the lips of a woman in Korea. This girl's mother.

"Mom talks about Korea a lot." BJ looked at the man. "She talks about you and BJ and Colonel Potter a lot too."

"Have you met any of them?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well, we go to school with Doctor Winchester's daughter-" BJ smiled as Janie added her two cents.

"Unfortunately." Janie rolled her eyes.

"She's pretty much the reason why we're here." BJ took a sip of her soda. "I met Colonel Potter when I was about four though. I don't remember him much."

"I wouldn't think so." Hawkeye also took a sip of his Grape Nehi and added, "This may be a little personal, but how old are you?" He asked BJ.

"Fourteen. I was born almost nine months after the war ended. My mom hasn't ever told me who my father is, but I'm willing to bet it was someone she met in Korea, just by the time span." The sparkle slowly left the girls eyes. "I wish she would tell me where I get this hair from. It's certainly not hers." BJ grabbed a lock of her long black hair and looked at it.

Janie just looked at the two for a second and watched them. They seemed to have the same facial expressions and drank their sodas the same way.

"Are you guys hungry?" Hawkeye asked the two after about an hour of talking about Korea and the stories that Margaret had told BJ.

"Not really." They both said in unison.

"Aw, come on…the fries here are amazing." Hawkeye urged with a friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, okay." Janie thought with her stomach more than with her brain.

"How about you?" Hawkeye asked BJ.

"Well, I would, but I don't have any money."

"Non-sense, my treat." Hawkeye got up from his seat on the booth across from the girls and went to the counter.

BJ turned to Janie. "Is it just me, or does he look really familiar?"

"I've never seen him before." She thought a second, "Oh wait, doesn't your mom have a picture of him in that box with the stuff she kept from Korea in it?"

"Well, yeah she does, but it's more than that. I've never met him in person, but there's something about him…" BJ's voice trailed off as her mind wondered off to the past, trying to think of where she might know him from.

Hawkeye sat at the counter, waiting for his large order of fries and thought about the girl and her mother. 'Why does she seem so familiar? I mean, she looks like her mother and acts like her too, but it's more than that…' Before he could think anymore, the order was up and he took the fries over to the table.

Janie noticed how Hawkeye kept sniffing his fries before he ate them. She would have normally thought that was odd, but since she ate lunch with BJ every day, she had grown used to it since BJ did the same thing. She used to get annoyed by it, but it didn't really bother her that much anymore. She just thought it was odd that they both did it.

"Those were good." The girls agreed as they finished their share of the fries.

"See, I told you." Hawkeye smiled as he ate his, sniffed, and the last one. It had taken them another hour to eat the fries since there were so many of them.

After the three of them had talked for about three more hours, BJ asked, "Do you ever hear from BJ?" BJ added with a chuckle, "Hunnicutt that is."

Laughing, Hawkeye responded, "Just about every week." He smiled. "Does your mom ever hear from him?"

"Yeah. They talk on the phone sometimes. He thought it was neat that I was pretty much named after him."

Hawkeye wondered why BJ had never told him that Margaret had a daughter. He had told his friend that he had feelings for the former head nurse. Before he was able to think about it too much though, Janie spoke up.

"This is really nice of you, Doctor." Janie said as she took a sip of her Grape Nehi, that was almost gone by now.

"What's that?" Hawkeye asked with a smile.

"For staying with us and keeping us company. Not many people would do that." Janie told him.

"Yeah. Thanks." BJ added, taking a sip of her own soda.

"Well, let's just say I have a soft spot for your mother and want to protect her…or her daughter and friend in this case." Hawkeye smiled at BJ and her friend.

"This is kind of personal, I know, but…did you…love her?" BJ asked, her voice soft and her eyes showing her curiosity.

Hawkeye looked down at the empty plate and slowly nodded. "Very much actually." He grabbed the glass bottle like he was going to take a drink of the soda inside. "I haven't been able to date anyone else since her." After a moment, he did take a drink of the soda. The crowd in the diner was thinning and it was getting quieter.

BJ couldn't really say anything, but thought about what he had said before she asked curiously, "Are you the man that she left half of her heart on his lips before she left?"

"I don't know." He thought for a second. "I might be. We did share a goodbye kiss _I'm_ never going to forget. It seemed to have lasted forever. I didn't really want to let her go." It was kind of quiet for another hour after that conversation had taken place. BJ just couldn't stop thinking about how this man still had feelings for her mother, and maybe he was the one that her mother 'left half her heart with'. It also had to do with the fact that the two girls were getting sort of tired. It was now about 2:00 in the morning on Saturday and they had gotten up at about six o'clock the previous morning to catch the bus. Luckily the diner was open for 24 hours a day. Hawkeye had gotten the girls and himself a second Grape Nehi and they were slowly drinking them.

"I hope you didn't have plans for tonight." BJ chuckled softly after a long silence.

"No plans. I told my dad I would probably out all night though, so he won't be too worried." He took another sip of his soda.

"My mom said that the chief surgeon of her outfit was pretty close to his father. Until last night, well, the night before last, she never really said your name." BJ looked over at her friend who had leaned up against the window that she was sitting by and had wrapped up in her coat. She was asleep, and when Janie was asleep, it wasn't that easy to wake her up.

Hawkeye just sort of smiled as he looked at the girl. "You do look a lot like your mother."

"Thanks…right?" BJ asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's a good thing." He laughed.

"She says I look more like my father than her, but I really don't know what he looks like." BJ's eyes dimmed a little.

"That must be kind of tuff." Hawkeye said, his eyes dimming the same way.

"It didn't used to be that bad, but now it seems like Christmas, my birthday, and especially Father's Day are kind of hard to get through. I just wish she would tell me."

"Hey," Janie stirred where she was sleeping, and looked out the window, "my brother's here."

"How did he get here a half an hour early?" BJ asked.

"Really? You have to ask?" Janie asked sarcastically, laughed, and mock rolled her eyes. BJ stood up so Janie could get out.

"Jim!" Janie's brother walked in the front door. "What are you doing here? I thought BJ's mom was coming?"

"She is." The young man walked in the door. "How you doin' kiddo?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Doctor Pierce is a friend of BJ's mom and he waited with us." Janie motioned towards Hawkeye.

"Well thank you sir." Jim reached a hand out and Hawkeye shook it.

"It's quite alright." Hawkeye smiled.

"Hey Jim, did you say my mom was coming?" BJ asked.

"Oh yeah, she wasn't very far behind me. She should be here in about five minutes." Jim told his sister's friend.

"How did you get here so fast?" Hawkeye asked.

"Traffic isn't that bad at two o'clock in the morning." The young man chuckled.

"This is true." Hawkeye agreed.

"Well, plus we're talking about a very worried mother." Jim looked at BJ again with a smile on his face.

"Hey, it wasn't our fault. That stupid Honoria Winchester told the bus driver that everyone was on, yet I know she saw us." BJ felt pretty guilty about putting her mom through so much trouble.

"She knows, don't worry." Jim looked out the window. "Speaking of, here she comes."

Both Hawkeye and BJ looked out the window. Pretty soon, the blond opened the door and walked into the diner. "BJ!" Margaret stood at the door with a relieved look on her face.

"Mom." BJ went over to her and gave her a big hug. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay honey, I'm just glad your alright." She looked at her daughter. "I brought some clothes so we could get a room at the hotel so we don't have to go all the way back tonight." She looked at her daughter again. "Were you and Janie here all alone?" A look of worry came into Margaret's eyes.

"Not exactly. Your friend from Korea actually stayed with us the entire time." BJ turned around and motioned towards Hawkeye.

The look in Margaret's eyes grew softer. "Hawkeye." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She looked at the man that was slowly walking towards them, her eyes fogging up.

"Margaret." Hawkeye's eyes grew softer as well when he looked at the blond, a smile spreading across his face. "Long time no see." He tried to break the ice.

"You stayed with the girls the entire time?" Margaret asked with a sad smile spreading across her own face.

"Like I told her," he nodded towards BJ, "I've always had a soft spot for you."

"That was very sweet of you…thanks." With that, Margaret moved forward to give the man a hug. When she was in his arms, she started crying softly. When Hawkeye looked at her with a curious look in his eyes that Margaret knew meant, 'what's wrong', she dropped the bomb. "Hawkeye…you've been talking with your daughter for the last eight hours." She started crying harder as Hawkeye's jaw dropped, and BJ had to take a seat.

"What?" Hawkeye asked with a mixture of shock and happiness in his voice.

"I'm sorry." She looked at the two of them that were in an equal state of shock.

"Why don't we start heading home." Janie leaned over to ask her brother. She couldn't say that she was too terribly shocked about the news since she had watched the two for over eight hours and realized how similar they were.

"Good idea." Jim and Janie ducked out of the diner and started the drive back to Boston.

"Mom…" BJ looked at her mother with a questioning look, with some hurt in her eyes as well.

"I'm sorry I never told either of you, it's just that…I loved you both too much." Margaret looked at the two of them threw tear-filled eyes. They had both taken a seat at the counter.

"Yeah…you loved me so much you couldn't tell me who my father was." BJ's voice sounded sort of hurt amongst her sarcasm.

"Why Margaret?" Hawkeye's voice was more calm and a little more understanding, but his eyes showed concern.

"I'm sorry, it's just that…" She started crying a little harder. Hawkeye got up and moved towards her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Margaret…why don't we go to my place. You guys can stay in the guest room and we can talk more about this there." Hawkeye put her arms around Margaret and let her cry into his shoulder. When he felt her head nod lightly, he pulled away gently, but kept an arm around her shoulder.

Margaret wiped her tears away and looked at the man in front of her. "Are you sure?"

"There's two beds in the guest room, you'll be comfortable and your welcome to stay as long as you like." Hawkeye looked at BJ with a smile. "What do you say? Maybe I could get to know my daughter better too."

BJ had a faint smile on her face that showed she approved. She didn't really feel like being in a car for eight hours anyway and wanted to know why her mother hadn't told either of them about the other.

"In that case, why don't you just follow me to my house, I can show you your room, and we can talk more in the morning?" Hawkeye put his hands on Margaret's arms and patiently waited for her to look at him. When she did, he gave a small smile and said, "I'm not mad. I think I understand." With that, the two hugged and Hawkeye kissed the top of Margaret's head as she tightened her grip on the man that she wanted to see for over 14 years. BJ just silently went out to the waiting car and sat in the passenger seat, looking through the window of the diner at her mom and the man that she had so suddenly be introduced to her as her father. It was about 2:20 in the morning, and BJ was tired and worn out from everything that had happened that day. She leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat and before she knew it, she was asleep.

10 Minutes Later

"Wake up Sweetheart. We're here." Margaret gently nudged her daughter awake when they had reached the Pierce home. Hawkeye had just gotten out of his car and was walking back towards Margaret and BJ. Margaret reached behind her and grabbed the small suit case that she had packed for both herself and her daughter, and they both got out of the car. When she met up with Hawkeye again, she gave him an appreciative smile. "I want to thank you again for letting us stay for the night."

"It's okay. This way, it will be easier for us to talk." Hawkeye gave her a smile. "Come on you two, I'll show you to the guest room."

BJ looked at the house in front of her. It was much bigger than the house that she and her mom had lived in all her life. She couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like if her mother would have told Hawkeye about her. Would she have been living in this gorgeous house? She and Margaret followed Hawkeye through the house to the guest room.

"Here you go. Trust me when I say that this room is a lot better than the ones in the only hotel in Crabapple Cove." He smiled and turned on the light.

"It's very nice Hawkeye. Thanks." BJ gave the man a hug and walked over to one of the beds and laid down. She was so tired that all she did before falling fast asleep, was take of her shoes and her coat, and climb between the sheets.

After seeing his daughter fall asleep so fast, he looked at Margaret. "You must be awfully tired after that long drive." He put a loving hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Hawk." Margaret followed him a couple of steps as he started down the hallway, after she closed the door to the guest room. "I know it's really late and all, but…can we talk about all of this now instead."

Hawkeye nodded and started back down the hall towards her. "Yeah, I'm not sure how much sleep I would have gotten anyway. I just keep thinking about the fact that I have a daughter." He put an arm around Margaret's shoulders and guided her into the living room where he lead her to the couch in front of the fireplace. Before he sat down, he knelt down and lit one of the logs. When he turned around to sit on the couch, he noticed that Margaret was crying. "Margaret?" He got up and sat on the couch, and put an arm around the crying woman. "What's wrong Margaret?"

"It's just that…I feel so horrible. I mean, I didn't tell you about Beatrice because I knew that if I told you I was pregnant, you would feel obligated to take us in, and I just didn't think you were the marrying type and I didn't want you to be unhappy.." She tried to wipe her tears away, but there were to many. "Remember how we got a little intimate there as the war was ending?"

"Of course. I loved you very much…I still love you." Hawkeye tightened his grip around Margaret and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, when I got to the 8063rd, I started getting the same symptoms that I had the first time I thought I was pregnant…the time you gave me the rabbit test. I was there for a week, about six weeks after we…" Margaret's voice trailed off, but started again. "When I got back to the states, I decided I would stay in Boston since I knew there would be good schools and good hospitals where I could work at, and it was also close to Maine if I ever wanted to find you. The first day back in the states, I went to the doctor and had a test done. I was pregnant, and I knew it was yours." She started crying harder into Hawkeye's shoulder.

"I wish you would have told me." Hawkeye's voice expressed his sadness. "I loved you so much and would have done anything to be there with you. I tried for eight months after I got home to find you, but I just couldn't find you anywhere." He rubbed Margaret's arms up and down as she laid her head on his chest. "I would have loved to watch her grow up and to have held her in my arms when she was a baby."

"I'm sorry…I'm just so sorry, but I don't know how I could ever make it up to you." Margaret's body shook as she cried.

"Shh, it's okay Margaret. It's okay." He said in a soft voice, "I like the name you gave her. Beatrice was my mom's name."

"I know…when she was born, I saw how much she looked like you, I mean…even then…and I remembered how when you had told me what your mother's name was, how cute I thought it would be for a little girl. I had to name her that. I thought it was perfect." She gave a small laugh. "After I told her about all of the things that you and BJ had done, she decided that she wanted to be called BJ too."

"Well, at least her B and J stand for something." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Both of her grandmothers." Margaret also chuckled, knowing what the man who's arms she was in was thinking.

"I love you. I just want you to know that. I've loved you since the first time I saw you, but the first couple of years when I was chasing all of those other nurses, I was…I was just waiting until I could have a little run in with you. After awhile, whenever you walked into the room, a big smile would be pulling at the sides of my mouth and my heart would be thumping like crazy."

"Really?" Margaret looked Hawkeye in the eyes and had a soft smile spread across her face.

"Yeah." He nodded. "When we kissed goodbye, I never wanted let you go. I wanted so bad to just get down on one knee right there in front of BJ, Charles, and Colonel Potter, and propose. And there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't regretted not asking you." A sad look crossed his face.

When she heard what Hawkeye had to say, Margaret had tears running down her face. "I never wanted to leave you either. I wanted to just hold on to you and be in your arms forever by the time we went our separate ways…Every time I look at BJ I see you, and then I start to think about what life could have been like for us if I would have told you." She looked down for a second. "I love you very much. I never stopped loving you. You helped me so much when I divorced Donald, I just started falling in love with you. And then that night that we shared was just bittersweet. Who would have thought that nine months later I would be with my sister instead of you to help me through those 12 hours of labor."

"I would have been there for you." Hawkeye told her.

"I know that now, but then I didn't really know." Before they knew it, they were leaning in for a kiss. One that would last longer than when they said goodbye.

The Next Morning

Daniel Pierce, Hawkeye's father, found the two the next morning still on the couch, sound asleep in each other's arms. He knew the blond in his son's arms. She was the woman who's picture was on his son's nightstand and who he had talked about endlessly for those fourteen years since he had returned from Korea. He had become a wise old man who could see exactly what his son was thinking for the past fourteen years when he hadn't ever really made an attempt to get a date, or to see any women other than in a non-working relationship. When he saw the two together on the couch that morning, he decided to let them sleep and went to town, so they could have their privacy.

A couple hours later at about eleven a.m., Margaret stirred from her sleep and found herself where she had wanted to for the last, what seemed like forever. She reached up and brushed a loving kiss on Hawkeye's lips. When he stirred, he smiled at Margaret and returned the kiss.

"Good morning." He told her.

"Morning." Margaret responded with a smile.

"I know, why don't I go make breakfast." Hawkeye smiled and started getting up.

"I'll help." After giving a slight chuckle she added, "It has to be better than the crackers and jam we had when we got stuck in that hut." Her eyes twinkled at the memory.

"I remember that. It wasn't that bad considering the circumstances though." They both got up and walked to the kitchen. The fire had died down sometime during the night.

About a half an hour later, BJ woke up in her bed in the guest room. She looked over at the other bed and saw that it hadn't even been slept in. She wondered what had happened after she had fallen asleep, but got up and changed clothes and brushed her teeth and hair and walked out of the guest room and followed the scent of frying bacon to the kitchen. When she found the kitchen, she stood at the doorway and watched her mom and the man who she now knew was her father kiss. She leaned against the doorway and thought about how she would have loved to have seen them do that in the past, and how she would have loved to have seen her mom look so happy all the time. Instead of going into the kitchen, she decided to turn around and go back to the guest room and let them have their privacy. She got back in bed and waited for awhile. Before long, the door opened and Hawkeye and Margaret walked in.

"She's still asleep." Hawkeye whispered in Margaret's ear.

Shaking her head, Margaret whispered back, very quietly, "She's not, she's had the art of fake sleeping down since she was four. I'll prove it to you…follow along." With that she winked at Hawkeye and started talking a little louder, like she was trying not to wake her daughter. "I still can't believe you asked me that Hawkeye, I mean…we haven't seen each other in over fourteen years and then with the fact that I never told you about your daughter. I can't believe you asked me to…" she winked at him before she said it, "marry you. But, I'd be honored. I love you very much." With that, BJ jumped out of the bed she was in.

"WHAT?!" Her eyes were wide with shock.

"See what I mean." Margaret turned back to Hawkeye who had a soft smile spreading across his face.

"Aw Mom," BJ climbed out of the bed, "doesn't that trick ever get old?" She thought for a moment. "But uh…Really? I mean about the marriage thing…" She asked, confused.

Margaret shook her head and gave a slightly sad smile. "No, Honey."

Hawkeye looked at Margaret with a thought running through his mind. "Hey Margaret, you know…I have to uh…run some errands." He thought of an excuse to get out of the house for awhile so he could put his plan into play.

"But what about breakfast?" Margaret asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, I'll eat first, of course." His mind was whirling around with all of the ideas that were streaming around in his mind.

BJ sat on the bed and looked at her mother. Just during the past 24 hours, she had noticed that her mom looked 15 years younger.

"Well, come on then!" Margaret headed out of the guest room and towards the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am." Hawkeye jokingly called after her as he followed. BJ went afterwards.


	2. His Two Favorite Girls

**Chapter 2**

After Hawkeye, Margaret, and BJ were done eating breakfast, Hawkeye stretched and yawned before getting up from the table. "Well, I hope you two lovely ladies don't mind, but there's a couple of things that I have to go do at the hospital quick. I'll be back in about half an hour." He got up and walked towards the door. "Make yourselves at home." Before opening the door, he smiled as he remembered to do something. He walked back over to where BJ was sitting and messed up her hair in fun. "Don't grow up too much while I'm gone."

"I'll try not to." BJ laughed as she looked over at her mom who was also laughing and back up to Hawkeye. "See ya Dad."

"Bye kiddo." He then walked over to Margaret and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. He whispered in her ear, "Don't go anywhere while I'm gone." He kissed her again. "I love you."

A bigger smile spread across her face as she looked in his eyes. "I love you too Ben."

"Well, I'll be right back." With that, Hawkeye stepped onto the front porch and over to his car. When he started it, he went to do those 'errands' when really, he only had one very important stop. It could take a little longer than just half an hour to pick out the perfect ring, but he headed over to the jewelry store on the edge of town. He knew exactly what he was going to do, and couldn't wait to see if it was the right choice to make.

Back at the Pierce home, Margaret looked at her daughter. "I just wanted to tell you again how sorry I am that I never told you him. I just hope you can forgive me."

BJ stood up to rinse her plate. Before she responded, she took her mom's plate as well and walked over to the sink. Facing away from her Margaret, she thought for a moment. "I think I can understand…" She hesitated for a moment. "So uh…why didn't you tell him?"

Margaret looked at her daughter's shiny black hair and wondered if she should really tell her. Slowly, she started. "Well, you have to understand, when we were in Korea together, your father was always chasing women and…I always thought he was afraid of commitment. He's such a sweet man though. Always has been really. I just didn't realize how sweet he was when I first met him. By the time the war ended, we were very good friends and I loved him very much. We got a little friendlier than just friends one night though and as they say, one thing lead to another and we-"

"MOM!" BJ turned around and had a mock disgusted look on her face.

"Sorry." Margaret chuckled softly. "Anyway when I found out I was going to have you, I was so excited, but I knew that your father would feel obligated to take us in, whether he wanted to or not. I didn't really think he would want to get married, like I knew he would also think he should do, so…to keep him happy I just never told him about it. About you." Margaret had a few tears in her eyes as she spilled her heart out to her daughter. BJ's heart sank, but she walked over and gave her mom a hug around the shoulders from behind after she rinsed the dishes in her hands and put them on the counter.

"So you were afraid that I would make him unhappy?" BJ's voice was husky with emotion.

"No, I knew _you_ would make him happy, but I just thought that he would be pressured into something that he didn't want to do. It was nothing against you sweetheart." Margaret raised her hand to put it on her daughter's arm that was still around her. "When we were talking last night, I found out that he loved me as much as I loved him by the time the war was over. I could have told him. He said he had wanted to propose, but the time was just never right."

"I forgive you Mom. I think I understand now." BJ still wished her mom would have told her dad though.

"I'm sorry honey." Margaret pulled her daughter around and put her arms around BJ as she sat down on her lap; like she still did when they were joking around or when they just felt like talking. BJ was short and thin so she wasn't too big to sit on her mommy's yet. Neither of them really wanted her to not be able to do that anymore. They were very close and loved to be around each other.

BJ put her head on her mom's shoulder. "It's okay Mom. Really."

"No it's not. I wish I could have turned back the clock and told your father about you before you were born." Margaret's voice broke from emotion and BJ pulled away to look at her mom.

"Mom, really…it's okay." The girl raised her hand and played with a lock of her mom's hair like she used to when she was little. "I think on Monday at school, I'll give that stupid Honoria a hug though. Without her stupid little trick, I never would have met my father…would I?" She had a questioning look in her eyes.

"I don't know…I really don't. But I'm glad you get to know him now." Margaret smiled and touched her daughter's cheek. "I'm sorry though Honey."

"Mom, will you quit saying that?! I get it." BJ smiled yet she was starting to get a little impatient. She understood why her mother hadn't told either one of them about the other, but she didn't want to hear how sorry she was for it. She felt bad enough as it was, and her mom saying sorry all the time, for some reason made BJ feel guilty.

"Sorry." Margaret laughed, "Okay, that time I didn't mean sorry in the way that I was meaning sorry before." She laughed a little hardier as BJ started in too.

"I love you Mom." BJ gave her mom a hug before she stood up and stretched. She was still a little tired.

Margaret stood up and also stretched. She was still wearing her nurses uniform that she had come in the night before. "I think I'm going to go take a shower and put some different clothes on." Margaret headed for the guest room where her clothes and toiletries were. Popping her head back through the doorway, she smiled and in a joking tone asked her daughter, "Why don't you do those dishes for your father? I'm sure he would appreciate it." She knew how much her daughter _hated_ doing dishes. Much to her surprise though, she didn't get the same response as she thought she would.

"Okay." BJ smiled and collected the glasses and silverware from the table.

"Really?" Margaret looked at her daughter with a questioning look in her eyes. "Are you okay?" She went over to BJ and jokingly put a hand on her daughter's forehead to check for an imaginary fever. BJ laughed and turned around to start doing the job that she usually hated. Margaret also laughed as she turned around and went to take a shower in the guest room's attached bathroom.

Hawkeye walked into the jewelry store on the edge of town and went up to the counter. "Hi Hawkeye. What can I do for you this morning?" The girl behind the counter asked. She was in her early 20's, thin, and had curly brown hair that had more frizz than curl.

"Hi Sally. I'm just looking for a ring." Hawkeye smiled warmly at the girl and looked down at the many rings in the glass counter.

"What kind of a ring?" Sally asked, helpfully.

"Oh, an engagement ring." He looked up to gage her reaction. He got what he was hoping for. She had a look of pure astonishment on her face.

"Hawkeye Pierce getting married?!" She thought for a moment. "You know when I was about 15, I used to have the biggest crush on you. Well, I didn't know it was you, I just knew you were 'that doctor'. You used to go out with so many women. I don't think I ever saw you with the same one more than three times at most…until you came back from Korea. Then I never saw you with a woman…Who's the lucky girl?" Sally had a way of talking and not being able to stop.

Hawkeye smiled in amusement at the thought of her having a big crush on him and how true the statement was about him always being with a different woman. To answer her question, he simply said "A woman that I worked with in Korea." Sally smiled and nodded. "Hey Sally, what about that one. Can I see that one right there?" He pointed at one that he thought Margaret would like.

"This one?" She pointed at it before bringing the box to the top of the counter.

"That's the one." When Sally put the box on the counter, Hawkeye smiled and knew that it was the perfect ring. It had three diamonds in it that were not too big, but not too small. "I'll take it." After he paid for it, he tucked the box with the ring safely into his coat pocket and headed back out to his car. Before he went back home though, he decided that he had a couple more stops to make since picking out the perfect ring only took about five minutes.

When Hawkeye got back home, he ran up the front steps, across the porch, and into the front door. "Margaret?…BJ?" He called, wondering where they were.

"In here Hawk." Margaret called from the guest room where she was packing her things. When Hawkeye reached the door, a sad look swept across his face as he realized what Margaret was doing. BJ sat on the bed, watching her and now had the same sad look in her eyes as she looked up at her father.

"Going so soon?" His voice relayed his sadness.

"BJ has school on Monday and I have work, plus I really don't want to be in the way." Margaret shut the suitcase as she put BJ's pants and T-shirt from the previous day in it.

Hawkeye's eyes grew softer. "How could you think you were in the way? I love having my two favorite girls with me. I was hoping you would at least stay tonight too?"

"Please Mom, can we?" BJ pleaded.

"I _would_ like that…" Margaret smiled sheepishly at Hawkeye.

"I would like that too. I was hoping I could invite you two to supper tonight as well. You have to eat at the Lobster Shack at least once when you're visiting Crabapple Cove." He smiled.

"Well…" Margaret looked back at her daughter who was nodding her head, trying to get her mother to say yes. "I guess we could stay _one _more night and then drive home tomorrow."

"Good." Hawkeye's smile grew wider as he pulled two things from behind his back. "I'm sorry it's not much, but I had to get a belated Mother's Day and a birthday gift." In one hand he had a teddy bear that had a t-shirt on it that said _World's Greatest Mom_ on it and in the other hand he held another teddy bear that also had a t-shirt on it. This one said _World's Greatest Daughter_. Both Margaret and BJ were very touched. They both had a few tears in their eyes as they walked towards him. When he handed BJ her teddy bear, Hawkeye joked, "You know what you have to do now, don't you?"

"What's that?" She responded in the same joking tone.

"You have to give your daddy a hug." Hawkeye's eyes sparkled in fun as BJ wrapped her arms around him, wishing that she could have hugged her daddy for the first time, a _long_ time ago. But, this was good too. Hawkeye hugged her back and kissed her one the head.

"This is very sweet Hawkeye." Margaret looked at her bear and then back up at the man she fell in love with all those years ago.

"Well, I'm just a sweet kind of guy." He had an arm around BJ's shoulders and an arm around Margaret's. "I wish I could have been here earlier…in between the two young women that mean more to me than anything." They all laughed and wished they could have been all together long ago.


	3. The Engagement

**Chapter 3**

"Hawkeye, I'm home!" Daniel Pierce walked in through the front door of the big old house at about 2:00. He dropped a few bags of groceries off at the counter before entering the living room where his son had a beautiful blond in his arms. The blond had a lovely young lady with shiny black hair at her feet. They were all watching _The Three Stooges _on the TV across the room.

"Dad! I'm glad you're here. I have a couple of very important people I'd like you to meet." Hawkeye stood up as Daniel stepped in from the doorway and joined the three. Margaret and BJ stood up as well. "Dad, I'd like you to meet the Margaret Houlihan that I've told you so much about."

Margaret shook the man's extended hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you Dr. Pierce."

"It's very nice to meet you too Margaret, but please call me Daniel." Margaret could instantly see where Hawkeye got his kind nature from.

"And this," Hawkeye went to stand behind BJ and put his hands on her shoulders, "this is your granddaughter, Beatrice Jane or BJ if you will." Hawkeye's face showed his pride.

Daniel's face showed his shock. "You mean…you have a uh…a…daughter…why didn't you tell me?" He sounded a little hurt.

"I wasn't told either dad." Hawkeye looked a Margaret with mock anger. Margaret blushed.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Beatrice." Daniel extended his hand out for a handshake, but BJ gave him a hug.

"It's nice to meet you too Daniel." She just couldn't help herself. 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan wasn't much of a grandfather and had pretty much disowned his daughter when he found out that she was pregnant and not married. BJ had been wondering what her other grandfather was like when she went with Janie to her grandpa's to ride horses. Now, just seeing her other grandfather gave her reassurance that he might actually be a good grandparent.

Daniel's eyes were watering as he hugged his granddaughter back. "Please, call me grandpa."

BJ pulled away and looked up at her grandfather. She smiled, "Okay." Daniel couldn't believe how much the girl in front of him looked like Hawkeye. She had the same nose, eyes, hair, and smile.

Daniel looked at his son and Margaret. "I think you two have a lot of explaining to do."

Hawkeye and Margaret sat down on the couch and Daniel took a seat in the chair by the fireplace. BJ listened intently, sitting on the rug and looking at all of the pictures in the room. There were lots of pictures of Hawkeye when he was a little boy with a tall thin woman with, what she guessed was either black or brown hair. It was hard to tell, what with them being black and white and all. She guessed that the woman was Beatrice Pierce, her grandmother she was named after. There were also pictures of Hawkeye and his father. The picture on the mantel piece was an old family portrait. BJ guessed that her father was about five or six years old in the picture. The three people in the portrait, Beatrice, Daniel, and of course Hawkeye, all had big smiles on their faces and looked very happy.

There was a picture on the end table on the other side of the room caught her attention the most. She had seen the picture before. It was a group photo of the members of the 4077th. Her mom had the same picture on her nightstand. When she was about five years old, she had her mom tell her who everyone was. There was BJ Hunnicutt, 'The Chief Surgeon' (as her mom referred to him then), Major Winchester, and Colonel Potter in the front row, and Radar, Klinger, Father Mulcahy, and her mother in the second.

BJ kept looking at the different pictures for about an hour as Hawkeye and Margaret related their story to Daniel. Daniel was pretty much speechless and nodded his head a lot.

A couple hours later, Hawkeye, Margaret, Daniel, and BJ were all sitting in a booth at the Lobster Shack. Hawkeye and Margaret sat at one side of the table while BJ and Daniel sat at the other. BJ was trying to get to know her grandfather more, and it was getting easier as time went on. While they were waiting for their food, they talked a lot about the past. Sometimes about Hawkeye and Margaret's experiences at the 4077th, but mostly about BJ and her childhood.

"So, tell me _everything_ about yourself Beej. I really want to know." Hawkeye looked across the table at his daughter. He loved her very much already, but he hardly knew anything about her.

"Like what?" BJ chuckled.

"Well, like your interests, what you want to be when you grow up, if you like school…you know, everything." Hawkeye laughed.

The girl took a drink of her soda before responding. "Well let's see, I love to read and write, swim, ride horses, and I _love_ ice skating. I'd like to either be an author or a nurse when I 'grow up'." She laughed a little, as did everyone else. "and, I don't really _like_ school, but I do pretty good."

"Strait A student." Margaret added proudly.

"Really?" Hawkeye asked with a look of pure pride on his face.

"Well, I get B's and B+'s in geometry, but I've never been good in any math classes." BJ explained.

"That runs in the Pierce family." Daniel looked at his son slyly.

Catching the glance Hawkeye piped up, "Hey, that teacher had THREE nostrils. How was I supposed to concentrate." Everyone laughed. When the laughter subsided, Hawkeye looked at his daughter, "I'm very proud of you kiddo."

"That means a lot Dad…Thanks." a few tears of joy crowded in her eyes. Feeling a little embarrassed by them, she excused herself and went to the bathroom to hide them.

After she was gone, Hawkeye put his hand on Margaret's knee and lovingly squeezed it. "I'm proud of you too Margaret." His face showed it.

"Me? How come?" She seemed baffled by the complement.

"You obviously brought her up very well." He smiled.

Margaret chuckled softly, "That's the part of motherhood that scared me to death. I never thought I would be a very good mother." Her eyes grew cloudy. "In a few ways I really wasn't."

"What do you mean?" Hawkeye asked.

"You know, I never told her about you or the other way around. That's not really being a good mother." Margaret shook her head sadly.

"You thought it was best for her and that's what matters." Hawkeye put his arm around her.

"I'd like to think about it that way, but it just keeps coming back to the fact that she's never been able to know about her father. I mean, the first man a girl fall is love with is her father isn't it?" She smiled up at the man who's arms she was in. He smiled back.

"Margaret I think you've probably been an excellent mother. You can tell by the way your daughter looks at you that she loves you very much." Daniel smiled at the mother of his grandchild.

"Thanks Daniel." She smiled at him warmly as BJ came back and took her seat next to him.

BJ smiled at her father. "So, I have some questions for you too." Her eyes sparkles in fun as she asked. "Do _you _like school, and what do _you _want to be when you grow up?" They all laughed hardily. "But really, what's your job like, what do you like to do, what are you interested in?"

Still laughing a little, Hawkeye replied, "Well, I work at the small hospital on the other side of town where I'm chief surgeon, and I love being able to sit down with my patients and get to know them...getting this little town to say 'aw' if you will." He smiled at Margaret. She smiled back, knowing what he was referring too.

"I know the feeling." Margaret added.

"I like to read as well." He looked back over at his daughter. "And I like to fish and travel, and a good practical joke is always fun to pull."

"I never would have guessed it." Margaret said sarcastically as she laughed. "Remember the time you ran all my underwear up the flagpole. That was just cruel and unusual." Her eyes were sparkling in fun, but she had a mock angry look on her face.

"Aw, good times, good times." Hawkeye joked with her as he laughed.

BJ laughed. "Oh yeah, I like doing practical jokes too. Especially at school and camp." She thought for a moment. "Short sheeting 11 bunks in about 20 minutes was pretty interesting though." Everyone laughed. BJ thought about how confused everyone looked when they couldn't get in bed, and laughed even harder.

"That runs in the family too." Daniel laughed.

"Food's here!" Hawkeye exclaimed good naturedly as the waitress came to give them all their delicious looking food.

"Do you guys need anything else?" The waitress asked.

"I think we're good Tracy. Thanks." Hawkeye told the waitress.

"So, I guess in a town the size of this you get to know everyone huh?" Margaret asked.

"Oh yeah, intimately." Hawkeye responded. Margaret jokingly raised an eyebrow. "Not _that_ way, thank you."

"Must be nice. I've lived in Boston all my life and the only people I know are some of them that I go to school with." BJ was really beginning you like the little town.

"It is. I love it here." Hawkeye commented. "I wish you guys could come live with us."

Margaret just gave a sad little laugh.

"Mmm…this is delicious." BJ dug into her lobster as did everyone else.

They all ate and talked for about an hour. After they were all done eating, Hawkeye had a little surprise for Margaret. "Margaret can I ask you something?" He had a mischievous look in his eyes that matched his smile.

"Well of course." She chuckled a little.

"Can I get out for a moment?" He was sitting by the wall and what he wanted to do involved standing up, for a moment at least.

Laughing, Margaret got up and let him slide out of the booth. "You're a nut."

"Yes I am, but that's not exactly the only thing I wanted to ask you." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a box, knelt down, and opened it to show the ring that he had bought earlier that day. Margaret's eyes grew wide and BJ's jaw dropped. Daniel chuckled, knowing his son was up to something. "Margaret, almost 15 years ago when our time was almost up in Korea, I was very much in love with you. I'd always loved you, but by the time we left I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Like I told you before, I searched day in and day out for eight months trying to find you. I wanted to do this long ago, but I was just never able to and there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I wished I hadn't left Korea without you. I've never loved anyone else as much as I love you. Will you do me a huge favor and marry me?"

Margaret had tears in her eyes as she looked at her daughter who nodded in approval. BJ had tears in her own eyes. Everyone in the restaurant watched in suspense. Some of the women had tears in their eyes, from listening to his sweet proposal, as well and the men all had smiles on their faces. Margaret nodded and, in a voice breaking with emotion, replied, "Of course I'll marry you Ben. I love you very much." Everyone cheered as Hawkeye slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. Margaret jumped into his arms and he hugged her close, spinning her around.

BJ was so happy that her parents were going to be married. She had to wait for 14 years to meet her father, and about 24 hours after knowing who the man in the diner was in relation to her, she knew that she was going to have a wonderful life with him, her mother, and her grandfather. The tears of happiness that had welled up in her eyes had run down her cheeks. Daniel put his arm around her. "Welcome to the family Beatrice."

"BJ. And thanks." Daniel chuckled at the correction. After awhile, another waitress came over and gave them a big chocolate cake and a pricy bottle of wine that the restaurant would pay for in congratulations.


	4. BJ's Revenge on Honoria

Sorry this took so long to write. I had it done, but then I decided to re-write it because I didn't think it was the best…I PROMISE the other chapters will be better. I can't wait to see what you think and don't worry, there will be more.

**Chapter 4**

The next day, everyone reluctantly said their goodbyes. Margaret and BJ would go back to Crabapple Cove the next weekend, but everyone knew it would seem like forever until they saw each other again. BJ couldn't wait to tell Janie all about her weekend and about everything that would happen later.

It was about 9:00 at night when BJ and Margaret got back home. Tired from being on the road all day, the two skipped supper and went strait to bed. BJ made sure that the teddy bear that Hawkeye had given her was in her arms as she fell asleep that night. Her dreams, along with Margaret's, were filled with visions of what would happen in the future. They were both very excited.

**The Next Day:**

"You're leaving Beacon Hill?" Janie exclaimed with a look of pure depression after BJ told her about everything that happened that weekend. She was happy for her best friend, what with finding her father and all and for Margaret getting engaged, but she didn't want her friend to have to go away.

"Well…yeah, we're gonna move in with my dad and my grandpa when my parents get married." She thought for a moment. "I love it there though. The views are amazing. The house my dad and grandpa live in is wonderful. It's up on this huge cliff where you can see the ocean from almost every direction. There's a white picket fence around it and you can see this really cool light house from the back yard. Plus the house is huge and old, but old in a good way. It's got a turret and this awesome attack." BJ was getting excited, imagining what life would be like there.

"What's the town like though, other that what I've seen." Janie asked, thinking it did sound nice.

"Well, as far as I've seen, everyone's really nice. My dad and grandpa seem to know everyone, and the restaurant where we ate at on Saturday is unbelievably awesome. It's got the best food in town as far as what Grandpa says."

"His idea might change when you and your mom move in." Janie laughed. Margaret was a pretty good cook.

"Probably." BJ laughed in agreement.

"So, when's the wedding?" Janie drank the rest of her milk and put the empty carton on her lunch tray.

"They haven't set a date yet. They want to get everyone from the 4077th to come, so they're gonna wait until this summer." BJ smiled. "But hey, at least we only have about 20 days left of school!"

"Then what?" Janie asked, her depression coming back into her eyes.

"Then my mom and I move to Maine…" She gave a sad smile. She really wanted to move and live with her dad, but she was going to have trouble being away from Janie. They had been best friends ever since the first day of kindergarten.

"I sure am gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, but I'll be back for visits…and you better come visit me." BJ threatened jokingly.

"Oh I will, you can count on that. Just make sure you have an extra bed somewhere." Janie and BJ laughed and talked more about the weekend until lunch was over. BJ and Janie went their separate ways down the halls to get to their lockers.

"Hey, Honoria!" BJ called to the tall snobbish blond when she saw her in the hall by her own locker.

"What is it Houlihan?" She looked down her nose at her.

"I just wanted to say thanks." BJ smiled and tried to be polite.

"For what?" Honoria looked confused, but then again it was hard to tell.

"For leaving Janie and I in Crabapple Cove. If it hadn't been for you, I probably never would have met my father. But anyway…thank you soooo much!" BJ gave the girl a big hug.

"Ew, get off of me looser." Honoria looked around and hoped no one saw.

"Oh, sorry." BJ shrugged nonchalantly as she walked away. Turning around, she called back to the snob that was now walking with her friends to her class. "Hey Winchester…by the way, your dad might get an invitation to come to my parents' wedding in awhile. Hope to see you there!" BJ laughed as she walked to her next class…geometry.

**Later that day:**

"You should have seen her face, Mom! It was hilarious!" BJ was telling her mom about giving Honoria a hug in the hallway.

"I can't believe you actually did that!" Margaret said in between fits of laughter.

"Oh, it was funny." BJ thought for a moment as she looked down at her text book she was working on homework from. "So uh, are you going to invite Charles?"

Margaret chuckled, "Yeah, we probably are honey. He turned out to be a pretty good guy and also a friend of your father's and mine."

"Really? But every time we see him, it seems like he doesn't want anything to do with us." BJ looked up from her book.

"Well, I think he just doesn't really want to remember anything from the war." Margaret sat across the table and looked at her daughter. "You know, a few weeks after you were born, he came to visit you. He's the one that gave you that doctor teddy bear up in your room."

"Really?" BJ asked, raising an eyebrow. She never really knew where that teddy bear came from.

"Yep. He even wanted to see if there was anything he could do for us. I was pretty surprised."

"Did he know about you and Dad?"

"You know, I think he might have." Margaret thought for a moment about something that happened while Charles was visiting her. "When he gave you that teddy bear, he put it in your crib by you. When he looked up at me he said that you looked an awful lot like your father." Margaret shrugged, "I never told him who your father was, so I guess he must have just known."

"Did I really look like him even then?" BJ asked.

"Yeah. You were so cute." Margaret got up and went around to where BJ was sitting and jokingly pinched her daughter's cheek.

"Ah Mom." BJ swatted her mother's hand away in fun and went back to her homework. After about 20 minutes of trying to work on her geometry, BJ looked up at her mom who was at the stove cooking supper. "Hey Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"How come Honoria goes to Beacon Hill High School instead of some private, boarding school somewhere. I mean, Charles could afford it. How come she goes to a public school?"

"Well, I don't think Charles would want to just ship his daughter off to some finishing school in Timbuktu or somewhere." Margaret laughed.

"Who did he marry anyway? I don't think I've ever seen Honoria's mom."

"He married one of the nurses that worked at the hospital where he does." Margaret chuckled softly. "Charles invited me to his wedding, but I was about 9 months pregnant at the time. I really didn't want to go into labor there and ruin his wedding." She turned around from where she was at the stove and looked at her daughter. "You've never seen her mom because she died when Honoria was about a year old. She was killed in a car crash. Charles has had to raise Honoria on his own since then."

"Oh…" BJ bit the eraser of her pencil like she did when she was thinking hard or felt a little guilty. She all of a sudden felt kind of bad about being snotty to Honoria, even if it was giving her a taste of her own medicine.

**Even Later That Night**

"Ring ring!" The phone rang at about 7:30, right after BJ was done washing the dishes and heading for the living room to watch TV with Margaret.

"I got it!" BJ called into the living room before her mom got up. "Hello?"

"Beej?" The man on the other man asked.

"Dad?" BJ thought she recognized the voice, but wasn't totally sure.

"Yeah, it's me. How was school today?" Hawkeye asked with genuine interest.

"It was okay, I have a big English test to study for tomorrow over Romeo and Juliet." BJ chuckled. "You should have seen me in the hall today after lunch though Dad, it was pretty funny."

"What did you do?" Hawkeye could tell it was going to be something funny and was chuckling already.

"Well, I gave that little Honoria a taste of her own medicine and embarrassed the heck out of her." Laughing she continued, "I gave her a hug in the middle of the hallway, in front of all of her friends and boy was she embarrassed." Her laughter died down and her voice turned sympathetic when she told her father what Margaret had told her while she was doing homework.

There was silence on the line for a moment. "Listen, Beej…trust me I'd love to talk to you more tonight, but I was wondering if I could talk to your mother?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well of course Dad. Hold on a sec'." BJ went to get her mom and sat down on the couch and watched TV. She would study during the commercials. It was a new episode of Bewitched, and she didn't really want to miss any of it.

"Hi Hawk!" Margaret answered the phone.

"Margaret! How's it going?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. I can't believe it's only Monday though. This week is going to go so slow." She sat down on the stool that was by the phone.

"I know, but I was wondering…would you like to maybe come on Thursday night instead. I know you would be missing a day of work and BJ would be missing a day of school, but I was wondering if you would like to accompany to this little fundraiser dance that the hospital here is holding. I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else but my fiancé." She couldn't see it, but Margaret knew he was smiling in the way that made her knees feel like rubber.

"I don't think BJ would mind getting out of going to school on Friday. I have the day off that day anyway!" Margaret chuckled. "I'd love to go with you, Honey."

"Good. Well, I wish I could stay and talk to you some more, but my Dad wants me to go play poker with him and some of his buddies." He laughed. "I don't know if I'll be able to beat him, he knows exactly when I'm bluffing."

"Well good luck Sweetheart. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Margaret asked.

"Of course you will. Our phone bills might get a little spendy here in the next few weeks." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Well, considering the circumstances, I don't really mind."

"Me neither." There was silence as Hawkeye tried to figure out how to say goodbye, even though he didn't really want to. "I love you Margaret."

"I love you too Ben."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, and give BJ a hug for me." Hawkeye's voice was chipper.

"Will do." Margaret laughed. "I'll talk to you later."

"See ya!" Hawkeye hung the phone up and went with his dad to play poker while Margaret hung upher receiver and went into the living room and sat next to her daughter.

"How would you like to skip school on Friday and go to Crabapple Cove a day early?" Margaret asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"You know I would love that mom." BJ smiled. "But how come?" With that, Margaret explained the fundraiser and gave her daughter a hug from Hawkeye.

**Thursday**

Everyone was right. The week did go by slowly, but at last Thursday had finally come and right after school, Margaret picked BJ up at Beacon Hill High and they started their way to the little town where they would soon call home. BJ did her homework in the car and also kept her mom company as they made the eight hour drive. They stopped in New Hampshire and ate supper and finally got to Crabapple Cove at about 10 o'clock at night.

"Dad!" BJ got out of the car and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. When she went up to the porch, she gave her dad a hug.

"Hey Beej." Hawkeye looked at her with a joking expression on his face. "Did you get taller?"

"In a week?" BJ laughed.

"Hawkeye!" Margaret had shut the trunk and was carrying her suitcase up to the porch. When she got to him, she threw herself into her fiancé's arms and the two kissed, very passionately. BJ just stood and watched, silently laughing a little.

"You guys must be exhausted after that long drive." Hawkeye opened the door, "Come on in guys." He grabbed their suitcases and followed his daughter and soon-to-be wife inside.

"Nah, I don't get tired." BJ joked. As if on cue, a big yawn followed.

"Sounds like it." Hawkeye laughed. Turning around he added, "Why don't my two favorite girls go get some sleep. We can talk and have fun and everything tomorrow. I was wondering if you two would like to be shown around the town?"

"That sounds wonderful Ben." Margaret smiled.

"Yeah Dad, that sounds fun." BJ added, adjusting her back pack over her shoulder. She had make up homework for Friday and the regular day's homework all packed in the over-stressed bag. She had gotten most of it done, but had a couple things left. Geometry and anatomy. "Then maybe before the weekend's over, my dad could attempt to help me with my homework for the first time?" She chuckled.

"I could try." Hawkeye laughed. "No geometry right?"

"Well…" BJ rocked back and forth on her feet.

"Uh oh." Her father teased.

"Don't worry, it's easy stuff." BJ teased back.

"I doubt that, and come on. I want to show you something." Hawkeye started down the hall, BJ's and Margaret's suitcases in hand. When he got to the guest room, he dropped off the luggage. "Here, it's out back." Hawkeye lead them through the house and out onto the back porch.

When they all got onto the porch, Margaret and BJ silently mouthed the word, "Wow." There was a full moon that seemed huge. The bright white light was reflecting off the water of the Atlantic. The view was breath taking. BJ stepped off of the porch and looked up at the sky. It was the most remarkable shade of blue with hundreds of thousands of stars glowing. It was a clear night, with no clouds and a slight wind. BJ walked out farther to where the picket fence stopped her. She just stood there, taking in the view of the moon, the water, the far off lighthouse, and let the wind blow through her hair. She loved how it actually got dark in this little town. In Boston, there were so many lights, it was like it was always day time almost.

After about 10 minutes, BJ went back up to the porch where her parents had taken a seat on the porch swing. "I could get used to this." She looked back out to the ocean and then back to her parents.

"So could I." Margaret smiled before laying her head on Hawkeye's chest as he held her in his arms.

"Good, I'm glad you two like it here." Hawkeye rubbed Margaret's back.

BJ yawned, "Well, I'm tired. I think I'll let you two have your privacy. I'm gonna go to bed." She walked over and gave her mom a hug like she did every night before she went to bed. "Goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight Doodlebug." Margaret had a million nicknames for her daughter, and that was one of the more common ones.

"Goodnight Beatrice." Hawkeye told his daughter with a smile, knowing what would follow.

"BJ." She smiled and good-naturedly corrected her dad. "Goodnight Dad." She hugged him and as she opened the screen door. Looking back she called, "I love you guys."

"We love you more!" Margaret called back.

"No you don't!" The girl retorted as she headed to the guest room and her voice fading, the farther she went.

Hawkeye laughed as he got up and walked over to the fence where his daughter just was. Margaret followed and slipped her hand in his.

"This place is incredible Hawkeye." Margaret looked over to her fiancé. The whole backyard was lightly illuminated by the moon. She looked down at her engagement ring that was sparkling in the light. "I love this ring. It's beautiful."

Hawkeye put his hands on Margaret's arms. "I got that one for a few reasons." He smiled.

"What are they?" She asked.

"Well," he took her left hand in his and pointed at the different diamonds, "this one is for our past, this one for now, and this one…well, this one is for what's coming up." He looked deep into her eyes. "Also, when I saw it, the diamonds reminded me of your eyes. The way they shine." He smiled.

"Oh Hawkeye." Margaret smiled and tears pooled up in her eyes.

Hawkeye bent down and brushed a soft kiss on his fiancé's lips. Margaret then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they kissed, patiently in the light of the moon.

Don't worry, it's not over…there will definitely be more! What did you think?


	5. The Dance

**Chapter 5**

The next night, Hawkeye sat on the couch in the living room in his tuxedo. He had his daughter sitting on one side of him, and his father sitting on the other side. They had been talking while watching TV and were still waiting for Margaret to get ready for the fundraiser dance.

"Does she always take this long?" Hawkeye asked BJ with a smile.

"Not usually. In the 14 years that I've known her it hasn't anyway. What all do you think she's doing up there?" She laughed.

"Not a clue." Daniel responded, also laughing.

**Upstairs**

"No…no…not that one…ugh." Margaret was holding up dress after dress and looking in the mirror. She had packed all of her dresses since she still hadn't picked out which one she would wear. Finally she picked up the last one that was in her suitcase. "Okay…this will have to work." She shook her head and sighed.

After about twenty more minutes, her dress was on, her hair and make-up was done, and she was ready to go. She grabbed her purse, slipped on her heals, and made her way down the steps.

**Back Downstairs**

Hawkeye was looking at his watch for, what seemed like the fiftieth time that hour. "Don't worry, she'll be down in a second." BJ assured her father.

"Hope so, we're gonna be late if she takes too much longer." Just as he was finishing his sentence, Margaret came down the stairs, as if on cue. "Wow." His eyes got wide as he saw the love of his life walk into the room. "You look incredible."

Margaret had on a red, sequined, dress that went all the way down to the floor. It had a small slit up the side and you could see her shiny red heals. Her hair was also pulled back into a half pony tail and she looked incredible. "Thanks." She replied, unsure of herself. "I'm afraid I haven't lost all the wait from when I had you yet though." She looked at BJ.

"Sorry, but mom you look amazing." BJ got up off the couch and followed her father over to her mother. "Nice ear rings." She complemented.

"Thanks. They're the ones you gave me for Mother's Day last year." Margaret smiled.

"Well Margaret, it's a good thing I'm not about thirty years younger." Daniel gave her a mischievous smile while Margaret blushed.

"Shall we go?" Hawkeye asked, holding his arm out for Margaret to loop hers through.

"We shall." Margaret smiled and looped her arm through Hawkeye's. Turning around she added, "Now Beej, don't talk your grandfather's ear off." She chuckled.

"I'll try not to Mom." She had a tendency to talk way too much.

"Oh Margaret, she'll be fine." Daniel put his arm around his granddaughter's shoulders as they walked out onto the porch, following Hawkeye and Margaret.

"Have fun!" BJ called to her parents.

"See ya!" Both Hawkeye and Margaret called as they got into the car.

When her parents had pulled out of the driveway BJ looked up at her grandfather. "Hey Grandpa?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Could I call my friend in Boston?"

"Well, of course. You don't have to ask." Daniel chuckled. "This will be your home in not to long."

"I just thought I should since it's long distance and all." BJ shrugged.

"Yeah, that's okay. You can use to phone up in my den if you want."

"Cool, thanks Gramps!" With that, BJ turned and ran up the stairs.

"Any time!" Daniel called up the steps.

"Hey Jim, is Janie there?" BJ asked when her best friend's older brother picked up.

"Oh hey Beej. Yeah she's here. I take it you wanna talk to her?" He teased sarcastically.

"No, huh-uh. I thought I'd talk to you for a change Jim!" She responded in the same sarcastic tone. "Of course I want to talk to her!" She laughed.

"Okay, hold on a sec'."

"Thanks." She waited for a moment.

"Hello?" Janie picked up the phone.

"Janie!"

"Oh, hey BJ. What's up?" She asked.

"I just wanted to talk to my best friend is all." BJ sat down in her grandfather's big leather chair.

"What are we gonna do when you move there permanently?" Janie asked chuckling.

"I have no idea. Maybe you and your brother will just have to move here too." They both laughed.

After talking for about a half an hour about what had happened that day in school, Janie asked, "So, what did you do today while you were playin' hooky?"

"Oh man, I had a really good day off." BJ replied.

"Well, what did you do?"

"Well, this morning my dad took my mom and I out for breakfast at the bakery and oh my gosh, it was amazing. I'm really gonna love this town. And you don't have to wait forever in lines. There really aren't that many people here. It's really a cool change from Boston. You can even see the stars here."

"The pointy things in the sky or the people in the movies?" Janie asked laughing.

"The pointy ones." BJ chuckled. "You wouldn't believe how dark it gets here at night. I mean back in Boston, the lights are always on in the city."

"What else did you do today?" Janie asked.

"Well, after breakfast mom, dad, and I went to this big beach where the lighthouse is. You know, the one I told you about, that you can see from the backyard here. We were having a lot of fun, swimming and making sandcastles…and burying dad." She laughed. "Then at lunchtime, grandpa came by with a bunch of barbequed chicken and we had a big picnic."

"Sounds fun." Janie listened intently.

"That wasn't the best part about today though." BJ shook her head.

"What was?"

"Well, after we got back from the beach, Mom and Dad were talking in the living room and well, I 'happened' to be walking by…"

"Oh yeah, just 'happened'." Janie laughed.

BJ laughed too, "Well, I heard them talking about the wedding and who they were going to invite."

"Yeah?"

"It sounds like the wedding will be on June 5th, and they're inviting everyone from the 4077th!" BJ was excited.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I'll finally get to meet everyone they always talk about. I can't wait." She chuckled, "Oh and of course you're gonna come too right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Janie replied.

"Good…but if everyone from the 4077th comes and Dr. Winchester comes…you know who will probably come too…?"

"That stupid Honoria?" Janie asked in disgust.

"Yup." BJ replied

"Oh well, I'd say you got her pretty good though the other day." Janie was laughing.

"You think so?"

"People were still talking about that today!"

"Really?" BJ laughed. She didn't know that just giving someone a hug in the hallway would get that much attention.

"Yeah, Honoria's still fuming about it too. I think she just needs to get out of her ivory tower." Janie sounded purely disgusted.

The two talked for another half an hour before BJ told Janie, "You know I don't think I should run up my dad's phone bill with this long of a long distance phone call. I should probably go. But, I'll talk to you on Monday, if not before."

"Probably not a bad idea to run up the phone bill over here either. I should probably go anyway. I think Jim's done cooking supper…can't wait to see what THAT is." Janie said sarcastically. Her brother was NOT a good cook whatsoever.

"Well, good luck." BJ teased her friend.

"Thanks, I'll need it. Have fun!"

"I will. See ya Janie."

"Bye BJ." Janie hung up the phone a moment later, as did BJ.

BJ leaned over and turned off the desk lamp, which threw the den into an instant darkness. She stayed in the room for a second before opening the door, just smelling the surroundings. It smelt like leather and old books. BJ loved that smell.

**Downstairs**

Daniel sat at the fireplace, reading the paper and doing the crossword when he heard BJ coming up behind him. "Hey kiddo, what do ya know?"

"Not much." She replied as she sat down on the couch next to him.

"You hungry?" He asked.

"Ugh, no way. I'm still full from that picnic. That chicken was awesome." She smiled.

Daniel laughed and put his paper down. "So, what would you like to do tonight?"

"I don't know. I should probably get my homework done." She didn't want to, but she didn't like putting it off.

"What did you say you had? Geometry and anatomy?" He asked.

"Yep. The geometry isn't actually that hard this time." She gave a sarcastic sigh of relief.

"Well, the only thing I know about geometry is that it's what an acorn says when it becomes a tree. 'Gee, I'm a tree.'" They both laughed and talked and played card games all night. Each wanted to know the other better, and they were having a lot of fun getting to know each other.

**At the Dance**

"You know Margaret, you look amazing." Hawkeye told her for the 20th time that night.

"Oh stop." She laughed and jokingly swatted him in the back of the head. Margaret had her head on his shoulder as they danced to the slow song.

"You really do though." Hawkeye added. "Red is really your color." He chuckled, "I used to get kind of tired seeing you in olive drab all the time." They both laughed and the music stopped. They pulled apart for a moment to clap. The band was set up on a platform at the other side of the huge multipurpose room in the hospital. It was normally the cafeteria, but tonight you could hardly tell that it was normally used to disperse mediocre hospital food. The walls had been covered with silvery paper and the big spotlights made the whole room shine.

Pretty soon, the music started playing again and both Hawkeye and Margaret had huge smiles grow on their faces. It was the same song that they had done the lindy to all those years ago in Korea in the Officers Club. "Remember the night this played?" Margaret asked while she danced the lindy with her fiancée.

"How could I forget. We had so much fun that night." He smiled at the memory.

"A little TOO much fun actually." She chuckled.

"Oh yeah, and nine months later…" Hawkeye added.

"Exactly. But I wouldn't have traded that night for anything." She shook her head. With a chuckle she added, "I still haven't gotten my figure back since then."

"I think you have." Hawkeye looked her up and down. "Have I mentioned you look remarkable?"

"Yeah." She smiled, dancing. Neither Hawkeye nor Margaret had noticed it yet, but as they were dancing, the other people on the dance floor had moved to form a circle around the couple who were dancing so well. By the time the song was over and the two had stopped dancing, they were very breathless and laughing. When everyone applauded, they looked up and started laughing even harder, noticing that everyone had been watching them.

Still breathless, Hawkeye and Margaret walked over to the small bar, set up in the corner. "Double bourbon and water and an extra dry martini please." When the drinks were poured, he picked up the bourbon and handed it to Margaret.

"Why thank you." Margaret smiled.

"Here, let's go sit at a table over here." Hawkeye grabbed her free hand and guided her to one of the tables at the edge of the room. There were about a dozen tables and each had a white table cloth, a rose, and a candle on it.

"I'm having a wonderful time Ben." Margaret looked across the table at him.

"I'm glad you could come." He smiled as he took her hand and caressed it. "I love you, very, very much."

"I love you too." Margaret smiled at the man who was massaging the top of her hand with his thumb. His eyes were shining and that beautiful blue that swam around in them was as bright as ever. He hadn't aged much over 14 years, just a few more grays here and there that he hadn't had way back in Korea. She hoped that he thought the same about her.

**The Next Day**

Hawkeye and Margaret had gotten home pretty early the next morning at about three AM. They had had a wonderful time and had stayed out on the porch swing for another hour after they got home, just talking and watching the moon and listening to the ocean. Margaret had changed into her pajamas and snuck into the guest bedroom, where BJ was sound asleep, at about 4:00. BJ stirred a little and, still half asleep asked, "Did you have fun?"

Margaret walked over to the bed where her daughter was sleeping and tucked her in. She bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I had a blast." She replied.

"Good." With that, BJ rolled over, her 'World's best daughter' bear still in her arms, and went back to sleep.

At about noon, Hawkeye came down the stairs and had breakfast. BJ was sitting at the kitchen table, attempting to do her geometry. Maybe it hadn't been as easy as she thought…

"I thought you said that was easier?" Hawkeye chuckled.

"It was supposed to be." BJ looked up at her father. "Do you know anything about the surface area of an octagonal pyramid?"

Hawkeye just raised an eyebrow.

"Neither do I." BJ looked down at her text book again before laying her head on it. "You suppose if I put this stupid thing under my pillow at night, I could learn through osmosis?"

"Tried it." Her father laughed. "All it got me was a C+ in that class."

"Ugh, I'll have Janie help me on Monday morning." A sad look crossed her face. "Oh yeah, that's tomorrow."

"Yep, unfortunately." Hawkeye took another bite of his cereal. "Just think…what did you tell me? Only 15 more days left of school?"

"Yep." BJ smiled.

"Then you and your mom will come live with us right?" He asked sarcastically.

"You know, it does kind of make sense. I mean, seeing as how you and Mom are gonna be married and all." She laughed. Taking out her other text book she asked her father, "So, you wanna help with anatomy?"

"That I can do!"

**Later That Day**

"See ya Dad! Bye Grandpa!" BJ waved from the car as she and her mom pulled out of the drive way. She turned to her mom when the house was out of sight. "You know Mom, I can't wait to live here permanently."

"Good, 'cause I can't either." Margaret smiled at her daughter.

**So…what will happen next? Don't worry, it's not over yet!**


	6. BJ's New Room

**Chapter 6**

It was Thursday at about 3:30 after school. BJ and Janie were up in BJ's room, packing all of her stuff.

"I still can't believe it." Janie shook her head.

"What's that?" BJ asked as she was folding her clothes and putting them in a box. She had quite a few clothes and she had already packed a couple small boxes full.

"Well, for as long as I've known you, you've always wondered who your father was. Then when that stupid Honoria tricks the bus driver into leaving us in that tiny town, you end up meeting him! I always thought that only happened in movies." She chuckled as she was wrapping her friend's breakable trinkets in tissue paper and putting them in a box on BJ's desk. "Now they're getting married!"

"I know!" BJ laughed as she put her last pair of jeans in the box. "I can't wait though. I mean, after waiting for 14 years, I don't think I'll be able to wait much longer until my parents are actually married." She moved to her bookshelf and started putting her books in another box. So far, there were five boxes by the door and they were piling up fast.

"Well, at least you only have to wait a few more days." Janie chuckled, wrapping a frame that was on BJ's shelf above her desk. She looked down at the picture and chuckled. Showing it to BJ, she asked, "Remember when this was taken?"

"Of course I remember. That was when we went camping." She smiled.

"This was about a month before Mom and Dad were in that accident." Janie sighed. "You really helped me through that. I can't believe we'll only be able to see each other in the summer and holidays now."

"It'll be tough." BJ agreed. "But at least you'll be staying with us for a whole month. That'll be fun."

"Yeah. I'm all packed too. When do we leave?" She asked.

"Right after we're done with finals. So in about six days." BJ chuckled, "I am NOT looking forward to taking those tests. I don't think I'm gonna do so hot on that geometry final."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. It's open everything. We get to use our books and notes and all of that stuff."

"That didn't help me much during the first semester test for that class." BJ laughed as she put her last stack of books in the box, closed it and put by the door on top of the rest of the boxes.

"I'll help you study for it if you want. If you'll help me with English that is."

"Okay." They laughed. "Come on, I'll take care of the rest of this stuff later. My bag's downstairs."

"Okey-dokey." Janie followed her friend out of the room and down the stairs. They went to the living room and BJ grabbed her school bag from by the front door.

"So what are you having trouble with in English anyway?" BJ asked as she sat down on the chair by Janie who was sitting on the couch.

"Everything." Janie laughed.

"Okay, well let's start from the beginning then." BJ laughed as she opened her book.

"How's the studying going?" Margaret asked when she got home from her job at the clinic at about five o'clock. The two girls had been studying for about an hour and they had just gotten to geometry. BJ was pretty confident on everything but that subject.

"Hey Mom. It's going pretty good."

"Good. You guys hungry?" She asked.

"Not really Miss Houlihan." Janie replied.

"Janie, how many times have I told you over the years? It's Margaret." The blonde in her nurses uniform smiled from the doorway.

"Sorry."

"Quite alright." Margaret smiled. "I'll leave you guys to your studying." She went and got supper started in the kitchen that was scattered with boxes, stacked up against the wall.

**Monday-May 29, 1967**

BJ and Janie walked out of the school on their last day of their freshman year. "3:15 p.m.-" BJ started, a huge smile on her face.

"May 29th-" Janie continued with a smile on her own face.

"1967...WE ARE DONE!" Both BJ and Janie threw up their arms and screamed in excitement. The two girls laughed as they walked down the sidewalk around the school to the parking lot.

"Did you bring your stuff?" BJ asked her friend.

"Right here." Janie showed her the suitcase that she was carrying.

"Good." she thought for a moment. "Swimsuit?"

"But of course. And goggles." Janie laughed. "You do realize that I'm gonna want to be at the beach a lot right?"

"I'm gonna want to be there too!" BJ laughed. They walked a little further until they saw Margaret's car. "Good, my mom remembered we got out early."

"What? Like she would forget?" Janie asked as they waved and walked the rest of the way to the car.

"Good point."

"Hey you two! How was your last day of school?" Margaret turned around to look at the girls that slid into the back seat.

"Awesome, but better now that it's over!" BJ replied.

"How do you think you did on your tests?" Margaret asked her daughter and her daughter's friend, who was over at their house so much, she seemed like another daughter. She thought it would seem odd without Janie there all the time when BJ and she moved to Maine.

"Well, I think I did alright. I don't know though. Hopefully when I gave Cheryl our new address, she actually wrote it down so I'll be able to get the results to all of them this summer." Cheryl was the assistant in the office that took care of pretty much everything in the school. Sometimes she really wasn't that efficient.

"Ah Beej, I'm sure you did fine." Her mother laughed. "You worry too much."

"I can't help it!"

"How do you think _you_ did Janie?"

"On everything but the English final, I think I did okay." She replied, rolling her eyes, "I speak the language, but I just don't like the class." Everyone in the car laughed.

**About 6 hours later-5:30 p.m.**

"Do you guys want to stop to get something to eat?" Margaret looked to the back seat when they were pulling into a small town. The two girls were playing cards and talking.

"Sure." The two responded at the same time. "Jinx." The two laughed.

Knowing what would brake a jinx, where neither of them could talk, Margaret chuckled and said each of their full names. "Beatrice Jane Houlihan…Janie Kathleen O'Donnell."

"Thank you." They both said.

Before they could say jinx again, Margaret piped up. "Okay you two." She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "Where do you want to go? There's a Hardees right up here."

"Hey, that sounds good." Janie, again, was thinking with her stomach.

About twenty minutes later, the three of them were sitting at a booth, eating their burgers. "BJ, I'm sorry, but I just realized…I never really asked you, honestly, how you feel about all of this. Us moving to Crabapple Cove, me getting married…you are okay with it aren't you?" Margaret sat across from her daughter.

"Mom, you know I'm perfectly fine about it. I couldn't be happier, really." The girl in question took a drink of her soda. "Like she said," she motioned to Janie, "as long as she's known me, I've wondered who my father was. Now my parents are actually getting married." BJ was talking pretty fast, with excitement. "I think it's great. I can't wait to live with my dad and be a part of a 'normal' family." She put air quotes around normal.

Margaret laughed, "With you and your father under the same roof, something tells me we won't be a 'normal' family." She also put air quotes around same the word.

"I think I would have to agree with that." Janie's eyes sparkled in fun. "I'm happy for you guys." She looked at the two. "Even if it does mean you leaving me in Boston….with HONORIA!" She whined sarcastically.

"Yeah…about that…you wanna explain this to her Mom?" BJ nonchalantly looked away from Janie.

Chuckling, Margaret looked at Janie and explained what BJ was talking about. "After Hawkeye and I invited everyone, we thought it would be fun if everyone were to stay at, what will be our house…it's a big enough house for everyone, that's for sure, plus we thought we could put tents outside for the teenaged boys. Well, we thought maybe the girls, you know, the teenaged girls, could all 'bunk' together…in BJ's room. That would, of course, mean Honoria too."

Janie's jaw dropped.

"Hey, it might be a lot of fun. Who knows, maybe you guys could end up friends after the week is over." Margaret smiled, knowing what the girls' reactions would be.

The two girls laughed. "Yeah right." BJ rolled her eyes.

**7:30 p.m.-Crabapple Cove**

"Hey, Dad, they're here!" Hawkeye was sitting in the living room, catching up on some paper work he brought home from the hospital. He got up and went out to the car, Daniel following him.

"Hawkeye!" Margaret jumped into her fiancée's waiting arms. "God I've missed you!" Both BJ and Margaret had decided it would be best to stay home that past weekend so BJ could study for her finals.

"I've missed you too." Hawkeye hugged the beautiful blonde close, kissing her neck. When he pulled away, he looked deep into her eyes. "You know, a full week away from you is like going through hell."

Margaret giggled and, on her toes, wrapped her arms around Hawkeye's neck and kissed him. BJ and Janie got out of the car and leaned on it, watching the two, giggling. BJ loved to see her parents kiss. She just wished she could have seen it a long, long time ago too, like when she was little would have been nice.

BJ went over to say hello to her grandfather. "Hey Grandpa!" She hugged him.

"Hey Beej. How ya doin'?" He asked, messing up her hair and hugging her with the other arm.

"Great. Especially now that I don't really _have_ to leave this place again for a long time." She smiled.

Daniel smiled at his granddaughter, then glanced over at Janie who had her suitcase in her hand. "Is that Janie?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah." BJ grabbed Daniel's hand and walked over to her friend. "Grandpa, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Janie O'Donnell. Janie, this is my grandpa, Daniel."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Pierce." Janie shook the man's hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too Janie, but I really wish you'd call me Daniel." The man smiled warmly at the girl in front of him.

"Okay, I'll try to remember that." She replied.

"Hey, there's my girl!" Hawkeye came over to the three and put an arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Hi Dad!" BJ hugged him. "I missed you last weekend."

"I missed you too, but it gave me time to finish my little surprise for you." His eyes sparkled in amusement when BJ's eyebrow raised and her smile widened.

"Oooh, what's the surprise?" The girl with the long, shiny, black hair asked.

"You'll see in a while." He smiled mischievously, knowing the suspense would drive her nuts. "Janie, it's good to see you again." He smiled at his daughter's friend. "Do you have enough stuff to last you a month in there?" He asked, looking at her suitcase.

"I had to sit on this thing to get it closed, there's so much stuff in here. So, I think I have everything." Janie laughed.

"Well, why don't we go inside." Hawkeye looked at his daughter with a playful smile after picking up a couple suitcases. "_Maybe_ I'll let you see your surprise?"

"Dad!" BJ whined in the same playful tone that her father had just used.

**Upstairs**

BJ had just walked up the stairs and opened the door at the top of them into her room, that was formally the attic, with Janie and Margaret behind her. Hawkeye and Daniel stood at the base of the staircase that lead up to the third level and could hear all of their gasps.

"I hoped you would like it." Hawkeye laughed when he heard the three of them gasp.

Hawkeye and one of his friends from the hospital had taken all of BJ's stuff that had come on the truck a few days earlier, up to the attic that was then, just any old attic. Now it had been completely refurbished what had been the old, grungy space. It had been a nice enough room and all before hand, but with a new coat of lime green paint, (what Hawkeye had found out was his daughter's favorite color), a few fun lights, her movie posters everywhere, some pink and purple fabric on the newly painted, white, rafters and a few soft rugs on the new white carpet, made the room look a lot better. The three huge windows, one on each exterior wall, had hot pink and royal blue curtains. BJ's white, full sized bed, was in front of the window that was opposite the door and had a new lime green and pink plaid comforter on it. There was also a nightstand on each side. One had a new white lamp on it and the other had a picture of her mother and father, from when they were in Korea sitting in a nice silver frame. The picture was one that BJ had seen before, a couple weekends back when she and her father were looking through his old Korean war photo album. She had really loved that picture. By the window facing the driveway, were two bean bag chairs and her old bookcases. The other window faced the ocean and BJ loved the view. She could see the lighthouse perfectly. She also liked what was _by_ the window too. There was a new, black and silver, telescope with a red bow on top of it. Her new room was _huge_! And she LOVED it!

BJ and her mother were pretty much speechless. It was Janie who called down, "Hawkeye, this room rocks! You wanna come visit my place some time?"

Laughing, the two men came up the stairs. Hawkeye walked over to BJ and gauged his daughter's reaction. Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. "Dad?" She said quietly.

"Yeah sweetheart?" He replied, hoping she was okay. He had never heard her this quiet before.

"I love it. This is amazing dad! How did you do this, and in such a short time?! It's AWESOME!" She looked around the room again.

"Ben, how did you do this?" Margaret asked with a huge smile as she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, one of my friends has a wife that does interior decorating and I hired her to help decorate." Hawkeye shrugged. "I thought it was the least I could do for her." He nodded towards his daughter.

"You're a sweet man." Margaret hugged the man who had his arm around her waist.

"Aw shucks." He smiled.

"So, how do you like your new room kiddo?" Daniel asked his granddaughter.

"I love it. Thanks Dad. Thank you sooooooo much!" She went over and hugged him again.

"Hey, not a problem Beej." Hawkeye hugged his daughter back. He hated to think that he had missed so much of seeing his daughter grow up. "You know what? How about I bring those boxes that are still in the car up and you can put some of your stuff away where you want it? You want to do that?" He asked.

"Sure. Sounds like fun actually." BJ smiled. For some reason, she liked putting things away and cleaning things up.

**About two hours later**

"I just can't believe it. Not two hours after you're 'technically' moved in to your new house, you're already done unpacking and organizing your room." Janie laughed. "That has got to be a record."

"I am going to LOVE it here!" Was BJ's simple reply as she put her _World's Best Daughter_ teddy bear on her bed. That was the finishing tough to her perfect room.

It was about 9:30 and the sky was a deep blue. Both BJ and Janie went over to the window that faced the ocean and sat and talked and looked through the telescope at the stars. BJ also watched her mom and dad walk along the beach, holding hands. (And, what seemed like every few seconds, kissing.) BJ was really going to love her new life in Maine.

**Don't worry, that's not it! There is PLENTY more where that came from! Please review. **

**PS: Sorry about the paragraph explaining BJ's new room. I know it's sort of confusing...**

**PPS: Next weekend I'll probably be doing nothing but studying for final exams, so I more than likely won't have time to write. Sorry, but I'll keep going as soon as I'm done with those stupid tests! Hope you won't mind the wait!?**


	7. The Wedding

**Chapter 7**

**June 5****th****, 1967**

BJ Houlihan stood with her two aunts, Janie, one of her mom's friends from the clinic in Boston, and her grandmother that she was named after: Jane. They were in the room that her mother was sleeping in until she and Hawkeye were married. All of the bridesmaids had put on their pale yellow dresses, and Margaret had just gotten her dress situated exactly how she wanted it.

The wedding was about to begin, and _everyone _from the 4077th had come to see the nuptials of the former head nurse and chief surgeon. They were all a little shocked about who Margaret's daughter's father was though. Except for Charles who just smiled, knowingly. The first couple of days that they had all been together again for the first time since Korea, were spent catching up and getting to know everyone. The Hunnicutts however, were pretty familiar with the two Pierce men since they had come to visit for a week or two every summer for the past 13 years.

"Okay Mom, let's see." BJ studied her mother for a second. "You have something old," the bride's daughter was speaking of her grandmother (Pierce)'s wedding dress, "something new," Hawkeye had given her a diamond necklace to wear the night before, "something borrowed," she was then speaking of a rhinestone bracelet that she had let her use for the day, "and something blue." BJ had picked some blue flowers to put in her mother's bouquet before she got into her bridesmaid dress.

Margaret looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "I can't believe it," she said more to herself that to anyone in the room, "I'm going to finally be Mrs. Margaret Pierce." A shiver of excitement ran through her spine.

"You're beautiful darling." Margaret's mother looked at her daughter and tears of joy and pride formed in her eyes. "I just wish your father would come to the wedding."

Everyone's eyes clouded slightly with the thought of 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan not wanting to be at his daughter's wedding, just because she had a child out of wed lock. Well, now she was _marrying _the child's father!

"Oh well, Dad never really approved of Ben anyway." Margaret thought back to the time at the 4077th when old 'Howitzer' came to visit and things really didn't go well at all. She was trying to be strong for her mother who was really very upset about her ex husband's stubbornness.

There was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" BJ Houlihan called.

"Are you guys almost ready?" The now about 76 year old Colonel Potter asked from the other side of the doorway. You would never know that he was an old man just by looking at him. He was still just as fit as a fiddle as the day he left Korea. He had barely changed a bit.

"Well, are we?" Asked Emily, Margaret's younger sister.

"I think so." Margaret nodded. "Yeah we are Sherman. Be out in a second." She called in reply to the man's question.

"I'll go tell 'em then." The man walked back down the steps and out the back door. He went to go tell his wife to get her fingers warmed up since she was going to be playing the wedding march on the piano that they had dragged out to the back porch.

"Well, come on then. Let's go." Nancy, Margaret's friend from her old job, started out of the door. Everyone else followed and waited at the bottom of the steps.

BJ and Margaret were still in the room where they had all gotten ready. "You ready for your parents to get married?" Margaret asked her daughter, her voice quivering with excitement.

"You bet I am Mom." The girl smiled.

"Good." Margaret walked over and gave her a hug. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yes I know, I know…now can we get this show on the road?" BJ asked in mock annoyance.

"Yeah, come on…maid of honor." The bride-to-be started out the door and down the big wooden staircase and her daughter fallowed.

At the bottom of the stairs, the bridesmaids met with the ushers. They were Benji and Charlie (BJ and Peg Hunnicutt's very attractive 14-year-old twin sons), Radar O'Reily, and Max Klinger. BJ was with Benji, Janie was with Charlie, Emily was with Klinger, and Susanne (Margaret's other sister) was with Radar. Margaret's mother gave her daughter a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving to take her seat in the crowd of about 20 people. Almost everyone was either from the 4077th or the families of the ones her served in the war.

Soon, the music started playing. The bridesmaids and ushers made their way out into the fresh, warm, sea scented air, and took their designated places after the flower girl (one of Margaret's nieces) made her way down the aisle. Hawkeye was smiling from ear to ear as everyone walked down the aisle. BJ Hunnicutt stood beside him as his best man. He was also smiling, his face clear of any caterpillar-resembling mustaches. Father Mulcahy also stood at the alter, waiting to perform the ceremony that he had many times before. Much of his hearing had been recovered during the past, 14 years.

When everyone stood to watch the bride walk down the aisle, BJ looked over at her father. In the short time she had known him, she had never seen him look so happy. His smile had grown wider and his eyes softer as the woman he loved walked down the aisle, towards him. It was something that she knew her father had wished he could have seen almost 15 years ago, but she decided that she sort of liked it this way, so _she _could see the 'magic' as well.

BJ moved her gaze over to her mom. She looked so beautiful in the wedding dress that Daniel had handed her, almost in tears, only two nights before. He said that he wouldn't want anything more than for his future daughter in law to wear the same gown that his late wife had worn.

When Margaret reached Hawkeye at the alter, after she handed her bouquet to BJ, he grabbed her hand and kissed it before Father Mulcahy started. "Who gives the bride away?" He asked.

"I do." Colonel Potter replied.

Father Mulcahy smiled as he continued. "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in Holy matrimony."

"Finally." Hawkeye sarcastically tried to cover it up with a cough, but everyone heard and laughed. Margaret gave him a smile that meant she fully agreed.

After about 20 minutes of the usual wedding ceremony speech, it was time for the two to give their vows. "Do you Margaret Houlihan, take this man, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

Margaret looked deep into the eyes of the man she loved and simply replied, "I do," her voice cracking from emotion. BJ found it harder and harder to see her parents clearly anymore as tears of joy were welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.

"And do you, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, take this woman, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" The padre smiled more, excited to see two very good friends of his finally 'tie the knot'.

Hawkeye squeezed Margaret's hands affectionately as his smile grew even wider and his eyes sparkled with fun. "I most certainly do."

Chuckles were heard all through the congregation. Father Mulcahy looked at BJ. "May we have the rings please?"

"Here you go Father." BJ Hunnicutt handed the Padre the rings and, after he blessed them, Francis gave Margaret's to Hawkeye and Hawkeye's to Margaret.

"Repeat after me:" he looked at Hawkeye, "with this ring, I thee wed."

Hawkeye did as instructed and repeated the phrase, "With this ring, I thee wed." He then slipped it on Margaret's finger, the diamond shining like her eyes.

"And Margaret, repeat after me as well: with this ring, I thee wed."

Margaret also did as instructed. "With this ring, I thee wed." She then slipped Hawkeye's wedding band onto his finger. They both looked eagerly up at Father Mulcahy.

"I now pronounce you man and wife." Seeing the looks on the two peoples' faces he quickly added, "Okay, okay, _now_ you can kiss the bride Hawkeye."

"Thank you Father, you don't have to tell me twice." Hawkeye lifted Margaret's veil and they leaned into kiss one another, wrapping their arms around each other.

As her parents were kissing, BJ reached up to carefully wipe away her tears of joy trying to do it without messing up her makeup. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned around. Janie had a big smile on her face as well as she leaned in and whispered, "Nice to meet you BJ _Pierce_." The two girls chuckled as Hawkeye and Margaret kissed…and kissed…and kissed.

**Later That Night: The Reception**

At about 6:00 o'clock, the caterer (also one of Hawkeye's former classmates), had dinner on the table. That morning, when the guys helped set up the back yard, they had moved the big tent that the teenaged boys were sleeping in to the far side of the back yard, and had brought out a long table that had enough room for everyone to sit at. Now, the newly married couple, their daughter Beatrice Jane _Pierce_, and all of the guests sat around the large table, eating the delicious dinner of, of course, lobster and other crustaceans. After awhile, the groom's best man stood up to make a toast to the bride and groom.

"You know, when we were back in Korea, I saw these two looking at each other a lot with lust in their eyes. When I first went to Korea, the now happy couple, were always at each other's throats, but near the end of the war, they were at each other's throats in a different way." Everyone laughed and Hawkeye squeezed his wife's knee with affection. "I'm just glad that they _finally_ got together and their little family can live happily ever after." BJ looked at the couple's daughter. "So, I'd just like to give my congratulations to the best friend I've ever had and the love of his life, also one of my greatest friends."

"Thanks Beej." Hawkeye smiled up at his best friend. He stood up as well. "I want to make a toast too. To two very special girls." His eyes sparkled with pride as he looked at his beautiful wife and daughter. "I hadn't even seen the love of my life for more than 14 years, until about two months ago. Then it was just by chance and," he shook his head, chuckling a little, "I only thought that kind of thing happened in the movies." Everyone laughed, thinking about the story that the former chief surgeon and his daughter had told them the day earlier when they were asked how they were brought together. "I can't tell you what I felt when I found out I had a daughter. I wasn't angry about Margaret not telling her, but I felt like I had let my daughter down a little. I mean I never got to hold her when she was a baby, help her with her first steps, or teach her how to ride a bike, but I just hope that I'll be able to make it up to her." When he was through, Beatrice Jane had tears in her eyes.

"Oh Dad." She stood up and went over to give her father a hug. "You've never let me down. Never." Hawkeye hugged his daughter back and had tears of his own in his eyes.

There wasn't a dry eye at the table until Hawkeye looked down at his daughter and jokingly asked, "Do you know how to throw a curve ball?" Everyone laughed as BJ shook her head with a smile on her face. "Well, remind me to teach you sometime."

A while later, after Hawkeye and Margaret cut the cake, they put on some music and everyone danced the night away and had a lot of fun. BJ Pierce and Benji Hunnicutt danced all night together and had a lot of fun. They were becoming very good friends as the night went on. Janie was becoming pretty good friends with Charlie Hunnicutt too. The two Hunnicutt boys were both about 5'8" and had surfer-like blond hair. Their older sister, Erin, who was now about 16 had the younger kids in stitches when they were all sitting together after dancing for awhile.

At about 9:00, Margaret and Hawkeye went into the house and changed into their everyday clothes. Everyone threw rice at the newly married couple and, after saying goodbye to everyone, the two got into their new car that had been decorated with _Just Married_ chalked onto the back window and tin cans tied to the bumper and drove off. They went down the hill, through Crabapple Cove and made their way to where they would be spending their honeymoon in Vermont.

**Don't worry, it's still not over! There'll be more!**

**Stay Tuned!**

**Thanks for the reviews. ****J**


	8. The HoneymoonAnd the Beach

**Chapter 8**

It was about an hour after Hawkeye and Margaret had left for their honeymoon in Vermont and the party at the Pierce home was still going strong. Everyone was having a blast, dancing, singing karaoke and just plain catching up with everyone. Soon though, the kids that were over 13 and could stay up later than the littler kids that had gone to bed a half an hour before, all walked down to the beach and hung out down there while the adults stayed in the back yard, up the hill.

All of the teenagers were getting to be pretty good friends. There were eight of them that had formed a circle on the beach, illuminated by a small fire that the boys had built. "Truth or dare anyone?" BJ asked the group.

"Sure, why not?" The others replied.

"Why don't you start Beej." Benji nudged the girl that he sat by. He had taken quite a shining to the girl with the shiny black hair.

"Okay…uh…let's see here." BJ tried to pick someone to ask first. "Honoria, truth or dare?" She asked, eyeing the girl and sort of hoping she picked dare. She really had a doozy of a dare for her if she picked.

Honoria flipped her hair and gave a smile that made her look like she thought she was something she really wasn't. Everyone rolled their eyes at the girl in question. "Truth."

'Darn.' Thought BJ. She thought of a question quick. "Why did you trick the bus driver into leaving us here when we came to see the championship wrestling tournament?" BJ watched the girl, waiting for a response.

Suddenly, Honoria's 'better than everyone' attitude faded. The girl stared into the fire and took a deep breath before slowly starting her explanation. "Well, when I was barely even a year old, my mom died in a car accident and ever since then, it's just been my dad and I. He's one person I know I can count on for anything…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up at the other girl who had just questioned her. "My father used to talk about Korea a lot. Once he mentioned the chief surgeon who lived in Crabapple Cove. Then one day after school, the day you and I had that big fight on the playground in, I think the 4th grade, I was so mad at you that I came home, venting all of this anger out and telling Dad everything. I'll never forget when he told me that you didn't know who your father was. I just thought that was impossible. I thought a dad was someone who was _always_ there. He told me the whole story about how your mom and dad were really close during the end of the war, and back then he used very simple explanations for it." Everyone chuckled a little, but BJ was fixed on hearing the rest of Honoria's story that went along with the answer. "A few months ago, when I heard that we were going to Crabapple Cove, I remembered what my dad had told me, and I thought about it for a long time. Finally, when we were at the Championships, I decided that I would tell the driver that everyone was on the bus, whether you were or not. It's a tiny town, so I kind of figured that you might run into your dad before you left. Looking back though it seems so strange that my plan actually worked. I mean, I could have just left you, and you and Janie could have gotten killed or something. I'm really sorry for leaving you, but I just want you to know that my intentions were good." Honoria looked up at BJ again from where her eyes were originally set on the fire.

BJ couldn't believe it. "You mean, you tricked the bus driver into leaving us, because you knew my father lived here and…wanted me to have what you have?"

"That's the main gist of it…" Honoria shrugged.

BJ wiped a single tear from her cheek. For a moment, it was silent and all the teens could hear was the whooshing of the waves and the murmur of activity at the top of the hill. "I guess some thanks are in order then." The girl looked across the fire at the other girl who, for a long time had been her enemy. "Thanks."

"No problem." Honoria smiled and gave a little laugh.

It was quiet for a while longer before Max and Soon Lee Klinger's daughter broke the silence. "Okay, I want to do one." Kim, usually called Kimmie, spoke with a small Korean accent and had dark black hair and beautiful, almond shaped eyes. "Uh, how about Benji. Truth or dare?"

"Uh, I think I'll take…dare." He waited anxiously for his dare.

"Well, you and BJ have been dancing and talking to each other all night. Why don't you give her a little kiss?!" Everyone howled with laughter as the boy's eyes got really big.

"Why BJ! You're blushing!" Janie jokingly slapped her best friend on the arm.

"Well?" Benji looked over at the girl beside him. "It _was_ a dare."

"Okay, fine." She laughed. It wasn't exactly how BJ wanted her first kiss to be like, but she liked it anyway. The boy's lips were warm and soft, but it only lasted for a split second.

They all laughed and laughed as their little game went on for a couple more hours. At about midnight, BJ got up and stretched. "I'm gonna go for a little walk down to the lighthouse. I'll be back shortly."

"Can I come?" Benji asked shyly.

"Uh, yeah sure. Why not?" BJ took of her shoes and carried them as she and her new friend walked down the beach by the water.

"Cold?" Benji asked when he noticed that BJ was shaking a little. The small yellow bridesmaid dress she wore didn't look like it would be all that warm anyway.

"I'm alright." BJ replied shyly. Benji took of his suit jacket and put it around the girl's shoulders anyway. She smiled back at him in thanks.

"You know, you're not like the other girls back there." He told her when they were closer to the lighthouse.

"How do I take that?" BJ chuckled.

"As a complement." Benji laughed. "You're pretty quiet really. And I've noticed that you're definitely not afraid to be yourself."

"I'm not much of an actress. That makes it kind of hard to be like someone else." BJ looked over at the boy who walked beside her.

When the two teenagers were close to the lighthouse, they stopped for a while and looked out at the ocean. "It's different on this side of the country." Said Benji.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It sort of sounds different too." He laughed. "I really don't know why though." Every once in awhile, the beacon from the lighthouse would shine on their faces. The other times, their faces were illuminated by a half moon that was reflecting off of the ocean and then their was the light from billions of stars. The two just looked at each other for a long time before Benji broke the silence. "Should we be getting back?"

"Probably." BJ turned around and started walking back the way they had come from. Benji fallowed and slipped his hand in hers. They walked the rest of the way to where the other teenagers were, hand in hand.

**Vermont: The Next Day**

The bright morning light shone through the window of Hawkeye and Margaret's honeymoon suite. The hotel that the newly married couple were staying at was at the top of a cliff in a beautiful wooded area. The night before, they had gotten there at about 10:30. Hawkeye carried Margaret over the threshold and they had sat in front of the fireplace for awhile before going to bed.

Now it was about 10 o'clock in the morning and Margaret had just woken up. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she was where she had wanted to wake up every morning for the past 15 years: in Hawkeye's arms. Hawkeye was awake and looking at her with those handsome blue eyes, smiling a mile wide. "You snore." He joked with her.

"I do not!" She playfully swatted him before kissing him good morning.

After awhile of just laying in each other's arms for awhile, Hawkeye asked his wife, "So, what do we want to do today?"

"I don't care. If it's with you, it'll be good for me." Margaret gave her husband a 'wicked' smile.

"Why Major Pierce are you suggesting that we just stay in the hotel room all day?" He shot back in fun, giving her a 'wicked' smile of his own.

"We could go for a hike in the woods, or go down to the lake and rent one of the row boats." She suggested.

"That sounds like fun." Hawkeye agreed.

After a while longer of just laying in bed and cuddling, the two honeymooners got up and went for a walk in the woods. When they got to the summit of the trail they were walking on, they stopped and waited for awhile, looking at the view and talking.

"This is beautiful." Margaret went over to the railing that was about 10 feet back from the cliff. They were above the tall pine trees that grew in the valley.

"Sure is." Hawkeye came up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Margaret reached up and covered it with hers. "So are you."

"Aw Ben." She blushed.

"No really." Hawkeye smiled. He leaned down a brushed a kiss on her lips.

Margaret put her arms around his neck and kissed him back, and for about five minutes, they were standing up on that cliff, kissing and kissing…and kissing some more.

**That Night**

"Do we want to go down to eat or have room service deliver?" Hawkeye asked, laying on the bed, looking at the menu he found on the nightstand. It was a pretty nice honeymoon suite, with a big bedroom, a nice sized bathroom, and a balcony that even had a privet hot tub.

"Can we have it delivered?" Margaret came out of the bathroom, wearing her pink silk nightgown, her blond hair in the pig tails that she knew Hawkeye liked.

"Okey-dokey…wow." Hawkeye had just looked up from the menu and saw his wife. "Maybe we could wait on the supper?" He asked.

"Maybe." Margaret laughed as she crawled onto the bed and into Hawkeye's waiting arms. She reached over and turned out the light.

**Crabapple Cove, That Same Night**

"So, what do you think your parents are doing now?" Erin asked BJ jokingly as all of the girls were getting ready to go to bed. It was pretty late and everyone was sort of sleep deprived from staying up until about 5:30 in the morning the day before.

"I probably don't want to know." BJ laughed, shuddering a little over exaggeratedly.

"That sounds about right." All of the girls in BJ's room laughed as they were getting into their sleeping bags.

BJ carefully stepped over the girls who were already in their sleeping bags to get to the light switch. After accidentally tripping over Katie O'Reily, she made it back to her sleeping bag. She didn't exactly think it would be right to sleep in her nice, warm, comfortable bed, if everyone else had to sleep in a sleeping bag, so she had put hers down with everyone else's and they had all once again formed a circle. In the middle, was a flashlight lantern that BJ had found in the garage and asked her grandpa if she could borrow.

"Hey Beej?" Honoria had pretty much lost that 'rich girl, snobbish' tone that she had came with.

"Yeah?" BJ replied, her face buried in her pillow.

"What happened with you and Benji last night?" She looked at her watch, "Well, two nights ago I guess."

Without having look up, BJ felt five pairs of eyes on her. When she did look up, she saw everyone look at her, ears ready to hear a reply. Chuckling, BJ told them. "We went for a walk to the lighthouse. Nothing happened."

"But you two were holding hands when you got back." Katie added.

"Yeah. What happened Beej? Come on." Janie gently elbowed her in the arm.

"We just got to talking is all. Then when we got to the lighthouse, we just ended up looking at each other for awhile. I don't know, it was kind of fun though." BJ blushed.

"I think_ someone_ has a thing for my brother." Erin teased.

"BJ and Benji, sittin' in a tree…" The rest of the girls started in. BJ just blushed some more and sunk into her sleeping bag, laughing with the others.

**The Tent Out Back**

"You like her don't you?" Johnny O'Reily asked Benji. It was dark and the three boys were talking to each other in the tent while the crickets chirped loudly in the background.

"Huh?" Replied Benji. "What do you mean?"

"BJ you moron," The boy in question's brother answered for Johnny. "You like her don't you?"

"Who says?" He responded, sort of defensively.

"We do. We saw the was you were looking at her." Johnny teased him.

"You guys are nuts, and I think you need some more fresh air." Benji shot back.

"Well, we _might_ have been able to get some more fresh air if _somebody_ would have laid off the beans today at supper!" Charlie looked over at Johnny.

"Hey, they were good. Sorry!" The three boys laughed and talked some more until they fell asleep.

**June 8****th****, 1967**

Hawkeye and Margaret didn't have that long of a honeymoon, but it was long enough to do all they wanted to do. They had a blast in Vermont, but wanted to see everyone before they all packed up and went home. It was about noon when the newly married couple pulled into the garage. When they went to the back yard of the big house, everyone came to greet them. "Mom, Dad!" BJ ran over to the two and gave them big hugs.

"Oh BJ! I missed you so much." Margaret gave her daughter a hug.

"I missed you too Mom, but uh…I can't breathe."

"Sorry." Margaret loosened her grip and looked at BJ with some worry in her eyes. "You didn't cause any problems while we were gone did you?" There was also a hint of sarcasm in her voice as well.

"I'm sure she was a perfect angel, weren't ya kid?" Hawkeye also gave his daughter a hug. "How's it been, having roommates?" He kind of laughed when he added the last part. "Have you wanted to kill Honoria yet?"

"Actually Dad," BJ smiled, "we've kind of become friends."

"Told ya." Margaret gave a smile that BJ knew meant 'I told you so.'

"Yeah yeah, whatever." The teenager rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"So, what have we missed everyone?" Hawkeye asked as he walked over to the group of people in the lawn chairs with Margaret on his arm.

"Well sit down Pierce…and Mrs. Pierce." Colonel Potter pointed to the two vacant chairs by him.

"We've just been talking about Korea, home, and everything else you could think of." BJ Hunnicutt laughed.

"In fact, we were just talking about that time that you and Margaret were sent to the 8063rd." Charles added.

"Ah yes. Do you remember that Major?" Hawkeye asked his wife, jokingly using her former rank.

"Indeed I do, Captain." She replied, a fit of laughter wanting to come out when using their old military ranks. Well, one of them was military anyway...

"I've heard about that. What happened though exactly?" Peg asked from her spot beside her husband.

"Well," Hawkeye laughed, "to make a long story short, Margaret and I got sent to the 8063rd, another MASH unit, so we could demonstrate an arterial transplant. Well, on our way there, we were getting shelled. Margaret wanted to keep going so we did and when we finally got to where the 8063rd usually was, it wasn't."

"We know _that_ Hawkeye," Klinger told the man telling the story, "but we want to know what happened that _night_." Everyone who sat in the group, voiced their agreeing opinion.

"Okay okay, well…" He looked over at his wife. "Do you want to tell this part Margaret?"

"Sure." She smiled and looked back at the group. "We had been walking for awhile before we came to this little abandoned hut and we decided to stay there for awhile. Things were going pretty smoothly-"

"Until I had a piece of wood lodged into my leg." Hawkeye added with a laugh.

"Well, after that little fiasco that showed just how manly my teddy bear of a husband really was," She teased him, "we were trying our hardest to make the best out of our situation and we had a long talk about Donald…remember that?" She asked the man that had helped her immensely through that.

"I sure do." he nodded solemnly.

"Well, anyway, later when we went to sleep, they started shelling us and shelling us and, I guess I was a little scared and Hawkeye came over to comfort me and we ended up being actual 'comrades in arms' that night." She put little air quotes around comrades in arms. That got big laughs from everyone in the group.

"Who would have known that those two scared people would one day be married and have a beautiful daughter." BJ looked at the couple and smiled. "I sure am happy for you guys."

"That goes double for me." Colonel Potter added.

"I'm happy for you guys too sirs." Said Radar nervously.

"Thanks guys." The couple smiled and looked at each other.

"Who'd a thunk it?" Hawkeye asked Margaret before bending down and giving her a peck on the lips.

"So, how was your honeymoon?" asked Soon Lee who was sitting next to her big nosed Max Klinger.

"Oh it was wonderful." Margaret replied.

"What did you guys do in Vermont?" asked Colonel Potter. Before either could answer, he added, "outside of the hotel room." Everyone laughed before Hawkeye started.

"Well, we did a lot of walking in the woods."

"And boating and swimming in that lake." Margaret pointed out.

"Yeah, you can tell that this girl here was an _Army _brat instead of a _Navy_ brat." Hawkeye laughed. "She tried standing up in that row boat and tipped us over!"

"Nice job Margaret." Charles teased his friend.

Margaret just blushed and laughed right along with everyone else. They group had been talking for about an hour before Margaret asked Charles what she had wanted to ask him for a long time. "Hey Charles?"

"Yes Margaret?" He replied.

"Do you remember how, shortly after Beatrice was born, you came over to visit and you gave her that little doctor teddy bear?"

"Of course I remember." He wondered where this was going.

"Well, remember how you looked at me and said that she looked just like her father?"

Charles nodded. "Well, to be honest, I only assumed that Hawkeye was her father since I had seen you two sneak into the supply room almost exactly nine months before she was born." He shook his head. "That was some sight to see."

"I bet." Radar giggled a little.

"But really," Charles continued, "your daughter looks like you so much Pierce, and did then too, that I could have just guessed if I _hadn't _seen you two try to sneak across the compound that night."

"I still can't believe that the beautiful young lady over there is that same little girl who's picture we still have on our fridge. She was such a sweet little thing when you brought her for a visit all those years ago." Mildred Potter reminisced. "She still is a very sweet girl, but just a little taller." She added.

"That was a lot of fun. Now maybe you guys could come visit us again." Colonel Potter looked at everyone who sat in the group. "That goes for all of you."

Everyone had fun talking and reminiscing about old times for the rest of the day, but unfortunately, everyone was heading home the next morning.

**The Next Day**

"Well, BJ, I guess this is it huh?" Honoria stood in front of BJ Pierce and was saying her goodbye.

"No way, you're gonna write me…and call." The two girls laughed and hugged.

"See ya Houlihan!" Honoria jogged to her dad's car. "Sorry, I mean Pierce!" She waved back.

"See ya!" BJ waved.

While his dad was saying goodbye to Hawkeye, Benji came over to BJ as Charlie went to Janie. "Well Beej, I'll see ya." Benji held the raven haired girl's hand.

"Yeah. I guess I'll see you too." Before she knew it, BJ wrapped her arms around the boy in front of him. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Benji pulled away a little. "I'll write, I promise."

"Long distance relationships don't work that well." The girl nodded sadly.

"Don't worry. It will." He laughed, "My dad and your dad call each other every week. I'll make sure I get the phone away from him after awhile."

"You better." BJ smiled and hugged him again quick.

"Hawkeye, look." Margaret nudged her husband and motioned towards the boy and the girl by the fence.

Hawkeye just laughed as his best friend also leaned over to him to whisper, "The father of the bride, pays for the wedding." The parents of the two kids chuckled at the comment.

**An Hour Later**

The house had been packed and busy only the night before, but now, even though there were five people, it seemed pretty empty without _everyone_ there.

"You know, even when your mom and I moved in here and had all of those parties before you were born, I don't remember this house being so busy." Daniel looked at his son and smiled as he shook his head.

"That was awesome!" BJ and Janie walked into the living room where Daniel, Hawkeye, and Margaret were starting to clean.

Margaret walked over to her daughter and gave her a hug. "Does someone have a boyfriend?" She asked, teasing her.

"MOM!" BJ stood, very embarrassed.

"BJ and Benji sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Janie joined in on the teasing.

"Ugh, you guys are mean!" BJ rolled her eyes in fun while she turned very, very red.

_There'll be more! Don't worry!_

_PS: Special thanks to Hartyvampier and Attheswamp! _

_Keep the review coming!_


	9. A Minor for the Major

**Chapter 9**

**Two Months Later**

Daniel and his daughter-and-law were sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast and talking about the job that was pretty much guaranteed for Margaret to have in the near future at the hospital. It was early and BJ hadn't gotten up yet and Hawkeye was at the hospital performing emergency surgery. "Margaret, are you okay?" Daniel looked at Margaret with concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How come?" Margaret asked, looking up at the older man. She put her head back down quick though since the room started spinning again.

"You just look a little green." He stood up and walked over to her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Uh…well-" Before Margaret could say anything else, she hurried and ran to the bathroom that was just off of the kitchen and got sick. After she had washed her face, brushed her teeth, and come out of the bathroom, she saw how concerned her father-in-law was.

"Looks like it." He gently guided her to the living room. "Why don't you lie down for awhile and get some rest."

"But I'm fine Daniel, really. I must have just caught something last night when I met Ben at his office before dinner." Margaret was too stubborn to let a little nausea get in her way.

"Just for awhile. Please?" Daniel's hands were on Margaret's shoulders as he looked her in the eye. "I was a big league doctor once and still do the clinic work on the side. I can give you a doctor's order." He stood up and tried to look tough.

"Fine, but just for a little while." She chuckled and laid down on the couch and started to feel much better after awhile.

**The Next Day**

"Seems different without Janie here." BJ picked at her cereal and spoke to her father who sat across the table, drinking his morning coffee and reading the Crabapple Cove Currier.

"For awhile I thought you had a twin." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Things are gonna be different without her around. I don't know anyone around here yet. It's gonna get pretty lonely." She took a bite of the colorful round pieces.

"Well, I'm sure once school starts, you'll make tons of friends." Hawkeye reassured his daughter.

"Hope you're right."

"I always am." He smiled as he got up and took his bowl to the sink. He had grey slacks and a light blue polo shirt on. "I better get down to the hospital and do my rounds." He yawned before walking back over to the table where BJ sat. "See ya kiddo." He messed up her hair.

"See ya dad."

Hawkeye walked through the hall and called up to Margaret. "You ready Honey?"

"Just a second." Margaret hurried to grab her purse and went down the stairs.

"We better hurry. Isn't your appointment at ten?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. The two went through the kitchen and Margaret grabbed a strip of bacon. Today she felt pretty much fine. A little nauseous, but no throwing up. "Bye BJ! Be good."

"What am I, three?!" She called in amusement as her parents went out into the warm August air.

Margaret just smiled and waved back to her as the screen door slammed.

"You feel okay?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. I did feel a little queasy earlier, but now I'm just peachy."

"Well, it's a good thing you needed to get that physical before you could start your job. It got you an appointment _and _you can see what's going on. Perfect timing to catch something. Way to kill two birds with one stone Honey." Hawkeye teased her as he leaned over to kiss the love of his life in the passenger seat before he started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

A little while later, they got out of the car in the parking lot of the hospital and they started to go their separate ways. Hawkeye jogged over to his wife and stopped her quick. "Meet me in the cafeteria when you're done?"

"Will do sweet heart. It shouldn't take long." Margaret reached up to give him a quick kiss before going in the front door while Hawkeye turned around and went in the door by his office. It wasn't that big of a hospital and there were only a couple of doctors in the whole town.

"Hey Christine." Margaret walked up to the desk in the waiting room.

"Hi Margaret. Good to see you again." The two had met at the fundraiser dance and had really liked each other from the beginning. When Margaret got her job, she would either be working with Christine or up in pediatrics, but she couldn't decide yet. "Dr. Linly will be out in a minute."

"Thanks." She turned around and sat down. As soon as she picked up an old magazine to flip through, Dr. Linly opened the door.

"Hello Margaret, come on in." He opened the door for her and they walked into the small room. When she sat down on the table, he started the whole 'normal doctor checkup' routine. When she told him about how she was sick the day before and nauseous today, he drew some blood for some tests.

"Well, I won't be sure what made you sick until I get the results of this blood test back, but I would say that you're, otherwise, perfectly healthy. I'll sign these so you can turn in that application of yours." Dr. Linly held up Margaret's papers for her physical, signed them, and handed them back. "I'll probably be able to find you when the tests come back. Will you be with Hawkeye?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm meeting him in the cafeteria for a late breakfast." She nodded.

"Well, I'll be able to find you, I'm sure." Dr. Linly smiled. "I'll see you then."

About an hour later, Margaret was sitting in the cafeteria with Hawkeye. "So, how'd it go?" Hawkeye asked.

"Pretty good. I had him sign my papers, so I can get my application for a job any time now." She smiled across the table. "Where should I work though? Down here with you or up in pediatrics?"

"I don't know but, we _did_ work pretty good together back in Korea." He returned the smile as he caressed her hand.

"I know, but I kind of want to work with the babies, I mean they're so cute and tiny and-" Margaret started, but was cut off by Dr. Linly who appeared by the table, out of what seemed like nowhere.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, I just thought I should bring you the results of that blood test that we did." The young doctor smiled.

"Oh, yeah…what did I have?" Margaret asked.

"Well, you weren't sick…" He looked at the couple who were looking back at him, wondering what had caused Margaret to be so nauseous all of a sudden. "Well, I guess you were sick, but not so much sick in the sense that you caught something but…well…Major, you're having a minor."

"What?" Margaret asked, her voice abnormally high. She was shocked, happy, and worried all at the same time.

"Really!?" Hawkeye's grin was from ear to ear and he was chuckling. "We're having a baby!?"

Dr. Linly nodded. "And Margaret, I'd say you're about a month along."

"A baby!" Margaret smiled, her face still showing the shock.

"Well, I better get back to work. Congratulations you two." The younger man shook Hawkeye's hand and kissed Margaret's before walking out of the cafeteria and back to his office.

"A baby." The mother-to-be just couldn't believe it. "Oh my God." She smiled, but it seemed like hundreds of thoughts and emotions filled her head.

"This is incredible." Hawkeye smiled widely and eyes sparkled with pure delight. Seeing that Margaret's eyes were now filled with some worry too, he asked, "Margaret, what's wrong? Aren't you happy about this?"

"Well of course I'm happy Ben!" She looked in her husband's eyes for a moment before she looked down at her hands. "It's just that…when I had BJ I was 23 years old. Now I'm 14 years older and by the time this baby is born I'll be 38. I mean, it was hard the first time with BJ, but how am I supposed to do it again…now?" She could feel hot tears start down her cheeks.

"Aw, hey now. Don't worry about that." Hawkeye lifted his wife's chin up and looked deep into her eyes. "You'll have help this time. Tons of help. There's my dad, BJ," he smiled, "and this time there will even be the father of the child."

Margaret nodded as a huge smile grew on her face. "You'll be there to watch this child grow up." Another tear ran down her cheek. "You'll be able to teach it how to walk and ride a bike and all of the things you didn't get to do with BJ."

Hawkeye also had a few tears well up in his own eyes. "I will." He stood up and Margaret followed. "I love you so much." He held his wife, tight in his arms, never wanting to let go.

"I love you too Ben." She buried her face into his shoulder.

Hawkeye felt Margaret shake and, thinking she was crying, pulled away a little to look at her. Instead, she was laughing. "What is it?" He asked, a laugh tugging the corner of his mouth as well.

"You get to change some diapers this time and help with the 4 a.m. feedings." The couple stood and laughed and hugged in the empty cafeteria for awhile.

"Why don't we go home and tell the news." Hawkeye suggested. "If anyone needs me around here they'll call."

"Good idea." Margaret took her husband's hand in hers and they headed to the car. As they passed the gift shop though, something caught her eye. "Hey Hawk." She stopped in front of the door to the small shop.

"Yeah?"

"I think I just got an idea about how we could tell BJ that she's going to get a baby brother or sister." She stepped into the store and held up a T-shirt that seemed perfect for the occasion. It was pink and in big black letters said _Big Sis_.

Hawkeye laughed. "Perfect." After they found their daughter's size, Hawkeye took it to the register, paid for it, and had it gift wrapped.

"Hey, Mrs. Pierce!" The girl behind the counter called as the couple, once again, started out the door. When Margaret turned around, the girl smiled and waved. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Margaret waved back as she and Hawkeye walked out into the parking lot. "News travels awfully fast around here." She chuckled.

"It's a tiny town."

**Back at the Pierce Home**

_I keep a close watch on this heart of mine  
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.  
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds  
Because you're mine, I walk the line_

BJ was listening to her favorite record up in her room. She was a big Johnny Cash fan and she had gotten his record as a gift on her 14th birthday. At least four of the posters that hung on her walls were Johnny Cash, (including one that she had actually gotten autographed) and his songs seemed to always get stuck in her head.

"I find it very, very easy to be true/I find myself alone when each day's through/Yes I'll admit, that I'm a fool for you/because your mine/I'll walk the line." BJ sang along as she sat on her bed and looked at the photo album that had all of her parents' Korean War photos in it. When she got to the picture in the book that she had the copy of on her nightstand, she looked up at it and the new picture that stood beside it. It showed her mom in her wedding gown, her father in his tux, and BJ in her yellow bridesmaid dress. They had stood on the back porch steps to have that picture taken.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" BJ hollered over the music. She jumped up and turned her new record player off.

"Hey Beej." Her mother opened the door and stuck her head in. "Can we come in?"

"No huh-uh." BJ said sarcastically.

"Good." Margaret walked in with Hawkeye right behind her with a package in his hand.

"Okay…what's going on?" BJ's eyebrow raised with suspicion as she watched her parents sit on her bed and her grandfather sit in the chair by her desk. "Do you know, Grandpa?" She asked.

"I don't know. They said that we'd find out together." He shrugged.

Hawkeye and Margaret made a space in-between them so BJ could sit down. "Come here." Margaret smiled and patted the spot.

"Uh, yeah. Okay." BJ walked over slowly, with a worried look on her face. "Before you say anything, I think you should know that I didn't do anything." She gave a big grin, knowing that she hadn't done anything anyway.

"We know. You're not in trouble BJ." Hawkeye laughed, knowing all too well what his daughter might be thinking, having been in that awkward situation too many times where you think maybe your parents know about something you did even though you don't. "We just saw this in the gift shop today and thought it would be good for you." Hawkeye handed her the package.

"It's not a holiday is it?" BJ was thoroughly confused, looking over at her calendar.

"No, we just thought you would need this in awhile." Margaret smiled, trying not to laugh. "Open it!" She nudged her daughter.

"Okey-dokey." BJ shrugged and tore the paper. When she opened the box and pulled out the pink shirt, the letters were facing away from her, so she didn't see anything special about it. When she heard her grandfather give a hearty laugh though, she knew there was something special about it. She hurried up and turned it around, and her jaw dropped. "Are you…?" She looked at her mother with huge eyes and a smile spread across her face.

"Yep." Margaret beamed as she nodded.

"Oh my God!" BJ got up and started jumping around, her two shiny black braids flying everywhere. "I'm gonna be a big sister!" She bent down to hug her parents. "Congratulations!"

"Am I to assume that that's why you were sick yesterday and nauseous today?" Daniel came over from his spot at the desk.

"Yeah, pretty much. Good ole' morning sickness." Margaret laughed.

"Well congratulations from me too! I'm gonna be a granddaddy again!" He started bouncing around with his granddaughter as his son and daughter-in-law laughed on the bed.

**That Night**

"Hey Mom?" BJ came down the stairs to the kitchen where Margaret was making supper.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Could I call Janie and tell her the good news?" BJ couldn't wait to hear her best friend's reaction.

"I don't see why not." Margaret laughed.

"Thank you!" BJ picked up the phone, dialed the very familiar number, and waited for her best friend to respond. She took a seat on the stool under the phone as she waited.

"Hello?" A man answered.

"Hi Jim, it's BJ. Can you put your sister on?"

"Yep, here you go." Jim O'Donnell knew the routine and quickly gave his sister the phone before it was ripped away from his ear.

"BJ!" Janie exclaimed. "How've ya been, it's been what? Two months since we've seen each other?"

"That's about it, but we have talked since then!" BJ laughed.

"True, very true." Janie replied in her chipper way.

"Well, I just thought I'd share some good news." BJ started, her smile growing wider with every word.

"What's that?" Janie asked. Even though she couldn't see, BJ knew that a smile was on Janie's face as well.

"I'm gonna be a big sister!" BJ almost yelled it over the phone.

"What!?" Janie asked, chuckling. "Congratulations Beej!"

"Thanks!" BJ told her best friend how her parents had told her.

"What have I said before? Oh yeah, you're living in a movie!" Janie laughed. "I hope you know that I'm thoroughly jealous."

"Sorry." BJ laughed at the movie comment. "I just had to tell you that. So, what's new in Bean Town?"

"Well, Honoria's a lot more human now and we've been hanging out a lot in the past couple of months," Janie started talking.

The two girls talked for about twenty more minutes. "Hey Janie," BJ cut in, "I hate to interrupt, but it looks like supper's ready. I should probably go."

"That's okay. I should probably go too. Tell your parents congratulations for me."

"Will do." BJ chuckled. "Oh wait, don't hang up yet."

"What is it?" Janie had almost hung up, but had heard a faint little voice before she did and put the phone back to her ear.

"Tell Honoria the news too!"

"Okay, I will. Oh yeah, sorry…one more thing." Janie added.

"Yeah?"

"Will you tell Benji to tell Charlie 'hi' for me when you talk to him next?" Janie asked sheepishly.

"Of course I will." BJ laughed.

"Okay, well I better let you go. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Janie." BJ hung up the phone and walked over to the table. "Want me to set the table mom?"

**Okay, so there's a LOT more on the way!**

**Oh, and special thanks to my new 'Creative Consultant', Attheswamp. Hehe!**

**Keep Reviewing!**

**PS: Sorry Hartyvampire, but I couldn't resist. But, I think you might like the changes that are coming up to the family…? PM me if you don't think you will…but I hope I won't loose a great reader/reviewer!?**


	10. More Than One on the Way

**Chapter 10**

**November 15****th****, 1967**

"You know, I didn't think there could be anything harder than geometry. Well," BJ sighed, "hello Algebra 2." The, now, sophomore sat at the kitchen table working on homework. They had only been in school for about three months and, already, BJ was having trouble with her new math class. Geometry at least took three and a half months to get confused with.

"Maybe I could help?" Margaret came over and sat in the chair and looked at the text book. She was now about five months pregnant and was a little bigger than would be expected for the middle of her second trimester.

"You couldn't help me with geometry. This is at least eighty million times harder." The teenager put down her pencil and put her head on her book in annoyance. "I hate math."

"I know you do." Hawkeye laughed as he walked into the kitchen and sat his brief case on the counter. "Hi Honey." He bent down and kissed his wife.

"Hey." She smiled up at him. "How was your day?"

"Oh, it was pretty good." He stood up and yawned. "Long, but good. What about you Beej?" He asked. "Still liking Crabapple Cove High?"

"I love the school, it's the homework I don't care for." BJ laughed. "Yeah, school went okay today I guess. I still don't know many people though. I've never had to be the new kid before." She looked over at her mom. "How did you do that so many times?"

"It was hard." Margaret nodded sadly.

"What's your homework today? More algebra?" Hawkeye asked his daughter as he went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of water. "Want any?" He asked. When the two at the table shook their heads no, he put it away and went back over to join them at the table.

"Yeah, but _Algebra_ was easy compared to this _Algebra 2_."

Hawkeye laughed. He snapped his fingers as he recalled something. "Dr. Linly wanted me to tell you that you need to get in sometime for a checkup. I told him you could probably just come with me to the hospital tomorrow and then you and I could meet up for lunch afterwards."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Margaret nodded. She sat up a little straighter and chuckled, "Junior's already getting pretty heavy."

"Well, whenever you need a back or foot massage, you just let me know." Hawkeye got up and kissed his wife on the cheek and laid a loving hand on her rounded stomach.

"I just might have to take you up on that offer tonight." She put her hand on top of his, reached up and cupped her other hand around his face and moved it so she could kiss him on the lips.

"I'm gonna get supper started." Hawkeye smiled.

"Alright! Bacon and eggs!" BJ said excitedly, knowing that was really the only thing that her father could make without burning.

Hawkeye chuckled at his daughter's remark and turned to Margaret. "So, where's dad?"

"Oh, he went to play cards with some of his friends. He said he'd be back before supper."

"Good."

**That Night**

"Okay girlie, lights out." Margaret came into BJ's room at about 10:00.

"Aw Mom, one more chapter." She was laying in bed, reading a book. "I just got to the good part."

"Come on, you have school tomorrow." Margaret sat on the bed.

"Okay okay, fine." She got up and set the book on her desk. When she crawled under the sheets again, Margaret got up and tucked her in.

"Thank you." She kissed her daughter on the forehead and went to turn off the lamp.

"Hey mom?" BJ asked, a sort of worried look on her face.

"Yeah honey?" The blond sat back down on the bed.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am. How come?" Margaret asked with a reassuring smile.

"The doctor's appointment."

"Oh that. Well, they have to see how the baby's doing. It's just a normal check up." She patted her very rounded belly. "You know, make sure its healthy and all."

"Oh, gotcha. I guess I'm just a little nervous is all. I've never been a big sister before." BJ shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be a great sister." Margaret flipped her long hair back behind her shoulders and bent down to kiss BJ on the forehead once again. "Goodnight." She turned the lamp off and went to the door. "Keep the light off." Even though it was dark, BJ knew her mom was smiling.

"Yes ma'am." She rolled over and looked out her window that faced the ocean. Watching the waves seemed to make her fall asleep faster.

Margaret went down the stairs and into her and Hawkeye's room. She took off her robe and got into bed. Hawkeye was in the bathroom shaving. "She alright?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, she was still reading." Margaret laughed. "She was worried about me though."

"How come?" The water started running and before Margaret could explain he was out of the bathroom and crawling into bed.

"Oh, she thought maybe there was something wrong with the baby. You know, because I have to go to the doctor tomorrow."

"Did you tell her it was just routine?" Hawkeye asked as he turned off the lamp before he wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close.

"Yeah." Margaret smiled as Hawkeye started kissing her neck. "Remember what you were going to do tonight?"

"Uh…" He thought, "Oh yeah." He sat up and Margaret did too. When Hawkeye put his hands on her back and started rubbing it, she sighed with relief. His hands did magic on her.

"You know, I was thinking," Margaret looked behind her shoulder at Hawkeye, "am I a little big for only being five months along?"

"No, I don't think so." Hawkeye shrugged and kissed her neck. Chuckling he asked, "So, tell me Margaret, why did you keep all of your old maternity clothes from when you were pregnant with BJ? Were you _expecting_ to have another baby?" He squeezed her shoulders, letting her know that he was teasing with her.

"Oh heck, I don't know why I kept them. I gave a few to my sister though when she was pregnant with Lizzy." She laughed. "But, I don't know really. I guess a part of me just didn't want to give up that chance I guess. I can't really explain it." Hawkeye made his way down her back and ran his fingers up her spine.

After awhile, the two laid back down and talked some more. Margaret had her back to Hawkeye and he had his hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. He wished he could have been there with Margaret when she was pregnant with BJ too, but he tried his best not to let that get to him. "So, what are we doing for Christmas?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well, we did talk about having a big party here for everyone from the 4077th." Margaret chuckled, "I bet BJ and Benji would like to see each other again."

Hawkeye sighed, "I don't think I'm ready for my daughter to have a boyfriend yet."

"Me neither sweetheart, me neither." She shook her head. "It seems like just yesterday, when I brought her home from the hospital." She stopped, "Sorry."

"It's okay." His eyes had dimmed a little, but Hawkeye smiled. "It seems like just yesterday I found out she was my daughter." He thought for a moment. "Will you feel up to hosting a big party?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Maybe we could call everyone and make plans tomorrow night?"

"That sounds good." He leaned up on his elbow and moved some of his wife's long blonde hair before he bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

**The Next Day**

"Well Mrs. Pierce, you're perfectly healthy." Dr. Linly smiled and helped her down from the table that she was sitting on. "As soon as I get the results from the tests we did, I'll call you, but it might not be for awhile. I'd say we'll have them by Thanksgiving though."

"Sounds good." Margaret smiled. "I hope they turn out okay."

"Oh, I'm sure they will. Everything seems perfectly alright." The young doctor (who took care of both the simple doctor visits and was the town obstetrician after Daniel retired) lead Margaret out into the waiting room. "I'll talk to you by Thanksgiving okay?"

"Alright. See ya." She turned around and walked through the familiar halls. Although she was going to get a job at the hospital, she decided that she would wait at least a year after the baby was born. When she got to Hawkeye's office, it was lunch time.

"Hey." Hawkeye got up from his desk and kissed his wife. "How'd it go?"

"Well, Dr. Linly said everything looked fine. He did say that the results of some tests that he had done today would be back by Thanksgiving though, so he's gonna get a hold of me sometime before then." She smiled.

"Well then, I say we go down to get some lunch. Remember, you're eating for two." He smiled mischievously and held his arm for Margaret to link onto.

**November 23****rd****, 1967 (Thanksgiving!)**

The day before, Jim and Janie made their way to the Pierce home where they had been invited to stay for Thanksgiving and the weekend after. They got there at about ten p.m. and since then, Janie and BJ had been talking non-stop. Jim was getting along rather well with the two Pierce men as well and they were now in the living room, watching the football game.

"Okay everyone, it's ready!" Margaret stood at the doorway.

"Oh goody goody goody!" Hawkeye got up from the couch, went up to the TV and turned it off, and excitedly went to the kitchen. Daniel, BJ, Janie, and Jim all followed and took their seats at the table.

"Mom, this looks incredible." BJ's eyes were wide, looking at all of the food that was on the table.

"Sure does Mrs. Pierce." Jim looked at his sister. "This is much better than last year isn't it?"

Janie laughed. "Yeah, what a Thanksgiving." She turned to her best friend. "Did I ever tell you about that, Beej?"

"Uh, I don't think so." BJ smiled.

"Well, Mr. Numbskull here was going to make a little turkey, but forgot to take it out of the bag before he put it in the oven. Needless to say, it didn't turn out well. We ended up going out." Janie laughed as she remembered her first Thanksgiving without her parents. It had started as a pretty sad day, but had ended on a lighter note.

"You're supposed to take the bag off?" Hawkeye asked, confused. Everyone laughed. Margaret was about to bring their own turkey over to the table, but Hawkeye jumped up. "Here honey, let me."

"Thanks." Margaret gave him a quick peck before they both went over to the table. When Margaret sat down, Hawkeye carved the turkey and they had a wonderful dinner with tons of mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, yams, and the turkey of course.

After everyone was done with their pumpkin pie, Daniel stood and held his glass up. "I'd like to propose a toast to the wonderful woman who cooked all of this absolutely wonderful food. Margaret," he looked at her with a big smile, "I know I've told you this a lot, but every day, you remind me more and more of Hawkeye's mother. The way you're stubborn and won't let anything get in your way, and the way you absolutely crush me at Scrabble come to mind first." Everyone laughed, and Margaret had a few tears of joy in her eyes. "But, other than that, the way you take some things so seriously, but have a wonderful sense of humor, and the way you care for your family and think about them and everyone else before you think about yourself, that's a lot like my late wife. She was gentle and caring and selfless, just like you. I just really wanted to tell you that, and that I'm so glad that you and Hawkeye found each other again. You're the best daughter-in-law a man could ever ask for." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks." Margaret got up, with some difficulty and hugged the older man with the tears of joy slipping down her cheeks. Everyone jumped when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Daniel started towards the phone, but Margaret stopped him.

"It's probably for me. Dr. Linly said he'd try to call me before Thanksgiving, but he might not have gotten the results in from those tests yet." Margaret wiped the tears away from her eyes and picked up the phone anxiously. "Hello?…Oh, hi Doc…yeah, we just got done eating…I hope your wife didn't mind that you had to work on Thanksgiving…no, I suppose not…" everyone else was quiet as they listened from the other room. "Yeah…what?…really?" Margaret sounded shocked. "how?…well, I know that, I'm a nurse…are you sure?…yeah, I suppose the tests don't lie…well, thanks…you have a good rest of the weekend too…bye." She hung up the phone and, with very wide eyes, walked back into the dining room.

Hawkeye stood up and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. His eyes were brimming over with concern "Margaret? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah mom, what's up? Is the baby okay? Are you okay?" BJ asked worried.

"Yeah…" Margaret nodded. "I'm okay." She tried to think of how she would tell her family about what she had just found out. "Hawk. We're not just having one…" She smiled and watched her husband's eyes grow to the same size as hers were. She didn't have to look at the others to see that they were surprised by the news as well.

"Twins?!" Hawkeye asked, a huge smile growing on his face.

"No." Margaret shook her head and her smile grew wider. When Hawkeye had a confused look on his face, she added…

**OHH! Not a cliff-hanger! Haha, I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what Margaret's talking about huh?! I promise it won't be too long of a wait though!**

**Keep the reviews and suggestions coming!**

**PS: Special thanks to New York Gal for giving me the idea for the toast!**


	11. FOUR?

**Chapter 11**

Everyone sat in astonishment as Margaret smiled, looking at her husband who had very wide eyes at the moment. She reached up and grabbed his hand that was on his shoulder and said in a soft voice, "Double that."

Hawkeye's jaw dropped and his eyes showed his mixture of shock, joy, and pride. "Quadruplet?!"

BJ had taken a drink of her water the moment before and was now choking on it. Janie reached over and slapped her back. "What?!" Her voice was hoarse from the momentary lack of oxygen. Her mom nodded.

"Four!" Daniel laughed heartily. "I'm gonna have _four_ more grandkids!"

Hawkeye was speechless for a moment, and all he could do was hug his wife and laugh in amazement.

Janie chuckled. "Congratulations Margaret!" For the first couple of weeks that she stayed with her best friend and her family, she kept calling Margaret Mrs. Pierce, but by the time she went back home to Boston, she was comfortable calling everyone by their first names.

"Thanks Janie." Margaret smiled.

"Enjoy your sleep now." Jim chuckled as he shook the couple's hands.

"Yeah really. That goes for you too Beej." Janie gently elbowed her best friend, smiling.

"Oh my God." BJ's smile was as wide as everyone else's in the room. "Wow."

**That Night**

"Well, that kind of throws this off." BJ stood at her white dresser and opened up the bottom drawer and pulled out a pastel yellow and green blanket.

"Hey, that's pretty. Where'd you get it?" Janie came up behind her friend and looked over her shoulder.

"I made it for the baby." She chuckled. "But now I don't think it will work."

"How come?"

"Because there's only _one_ blanket and _four_ babies on the way." BJ looked sadly at the blanket and put it back in the drawer where she got it.

"Well yeah, but they're not due until what? March?" Janie opened the drawer and pulled out the blanket and the yarn again. "You could have three more done by then. That's three and a half months. As long as you get one blanket done a month."

"Well yeah, but I started this one a week after I found out I was going to be a big sister and I only finished it yesterday before you got here."

Janie looked like she had just gotten an idea. "How much yarn do you have left?"

"Well, I bought a lot extra because I didn't know how much I would need so I have enough _yarn_ to make the other three blankets. Just not the _time_." She went over to her bed and pulled a box out from under it. "See." She took the lid off of the box.

"Okay, well remember how you and I wanted to make all that money a couple of summers ago so we could get those roller skates?"

"Yeah. What about?" BJ asked, looking sort of confused.

"Well remember how we stayed up all that weekend making those doll blankets so we could sell them at that amateur craft fair?" Janie didn't know how her friend didn't get her train of thought yet. Usually she had it as soon as she said a single word. Maybe it was all that time they had to spend apart.

"Oh yeah. We could work on them the blankets this weekend." BJ finally realized what Janie was getting at. "Here, I bought an extra hook last week because I thought I lost mine, but then I found it the next day." She dug in the box and pulled the red crochet hook from out from the bottom. The two girls set to work, sitting in the chairs by the window.

"So, how does this go?" Janie asked as she looked down at the already made blanket that laid between the chairs.

"Here, I kind of want to make them all different now so yours could go white, green, then yellow so on and so forth."

"Cool." The two girls worked all night and didn't go to bed until 3 in the morning when their fingers were too sore to do any more. They decided that they would keep going the next night.

**The Next Day**

Hawkeye woke up at about eight o'clock and rolled over. He didn't want to wake Margaret, so he quietly got out of bed, put on his robe, and went downstairs. "Morning sleepy head!" Daniel was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the paper.

"Hey dad." He yawned and went over to the counter to pour himself a cup and went back over to the table.

"Margaret still asleep?" His father asked.

"Yeah, I thought I'd treat her to breakfast in bed in a while." Hawkeye took a sip of his coffee and laughed. "I still can't believe it…quadruplets." He shook his head.

The man's father laughed. "A lot of times, it's a family trait." Daniel pointed out.

"Yeah, we were talking about that last night. Margaret said that her dad was a twin and her uncles on her mom's side were triplets. She said she was shocked, but not really all that surprised." He chuckled. "Now me on the other hand…"

"You're nervous though, aren't you?" Daniel smiled knowingly.

"Damn right I'm nervous." Hawkeye took a sip of his coffee. "I mean, I've delivered a few babies since Korea, but that night…" He accidentally thought of the Fourth of July, fifteen years ago on the bus.

"Don't worry Hawk. You're going to be a great father to the little ones. You already are to BJ."

"Thanks dad, really, but I just can't get rid of this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm just so afraid that something's going to happen." He didn't really know how to explain it.

"Oh son, you're just going through that little thing I like to call 'The First Time Father Jitters'." Daniel laughed and looked at his son. "Sure, your not exactly going to be a father for the first time, but this will be the first time you've been around a little baby that's yours. Well, in your case, _babies_."

"I hope you're right. I'm just worried for the first time that I hold one of them…" Hawkeye looked down at his coffee, his mind racing to much to say all that was going through it.

"Hawkeye, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Before your mother put you in my arms after for the first time I was scared stiff that I was going to drop you or something, but then when I was actually holding you, I was thinking of all of the things that I would have to do for you, that there was no way I could be scared…" He thought for a moment. "If that makes any sense." He chuckled.

"It does. Thanks." He smiled at his dad and took a final sip of his coffee. Hawkeye then got up and went to the fridge and pulled out the eggs and the bacon and started to cook breakfast.

"Do you smell that?" Janie, again thinking with her stomach, sat up in the bed that she was sharing with BJ.

"Smell what?" BJ groggily replied, turning over and burying her head in her pillow.

Janie sniffed the air. "Bacon." She smiled and shook her friend awake. "Come on Beej, let's go."

"Ugh, fine." The girl that was still pretty much asleep, got out of her bed, pulled on her robe that hung on her bed post, and went towards the door. The blankets that she and Janie had been working on were about halfway done and safely hidden under the bed.

Janie pulled on her own robe from her suit case and followed her friend down the stairs. The stairs creaked loudly under their feet and when they got to the stairs that went to the main level of the house, the two girls did what Hawkeye had shown them how to do that summer. They slid down the banister. Something that he had done to sneak out of the house when he was younger.

"Hey you two." Daniel greeted the girls. "You look tired. How late did you stay up last night?"

"Uh, till about three I think. I can't remember." BJ shrugged.

"What were you guys doing all night?" Hawkeye asked with a chuckle, knowing perfectly well that his daughter and her friend would be staying up late whenever they were together.

"Um…" Janie tried to think of something. BJ wanted the blankets to be a surprise. "Well we haven't seen each other for like six months almost, and we still have a lot of catching up to do."

"That sounds familiar." Daniel smiled, looking at his son. "That's how you and Hunnicutt are whenever you two get together." He looked at his granddaughter, "They talk to each other at least once a week on the phone you know, yet they still never run out of things to talk to each other about when they see one another."

"That sounds familiar too." BJ looked at Janie and the two girls laughed. "So Dad, when's breakfast gonna be ready?"

"Oh, I'd say about ten o'clock." Hawkeye had been talking to his dad for about an hour before he started breakfast, but he didn't realize it until he looked at the clock by the phone.

BJ looked at her watch. "We have a half an hour, what do you wanna do Janie?"

"I think I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready." Janie yawned and stretched. "Then I guess I'll wake Jim up so he can have breakfast." The girl with the long red hair chuckled. "Or, maybe I won't wake him up."

"I'm gonna go get dressed. I had a shower last night." BJ yawned as well and turned around to go back up to her room. When they got to the second level Janie went into the bathroom and BJ was going to go up to her room. When she walked past her parents' room, she stopped when she saw that her mom was awake, sitting up in bed, and trying to muster up the energy to go downstairs.

"Up so early?" Margaret asked her daughter with a smile.

"Yeah, Janie's bacon senses woke her up and she woke me up too." BJ rolled her eyes in mock annoyance as she walked into the room and crawled onto the bed.

Margaret put her arm around her daughter and hugged her. "Did you sleep well?"

"We didn't get to sleep until about three. We were too busy talking." She subtly danced around the fact that they were making the baby blankets.

"Jeesh." Margaret chuckled. "How are you awake _now_? It's only 9:30!"

"I'm good at sleep walking." BJ shrugged.

"Your father and I called everyone for our Christmas party last night." Margaret told her. "They all said they could make it."

"Really?" BJ's voice got higher in excitement.

"Yep."

"Who all's coming?" She asked.

"Well, there's the Potters, the Hunnicutts, the O'Reilys, the Klingers, Father Mulcahy, and Charles and Honoria."

"Cool." The girl thought for a moment, extremely excited to see Benji again. She had talked to him a lot on the phone in the past few months, but she wanted to _see_ him instead of just _talk_ to him. "Will it be the same arrangement? Boys in the tent, girls in my room?"

Margaret laughed, "I would think that would be a little harsh to put the boys out in the tent _now_. That'd be pretty cold."

"Oh yeah." BJ chuckled, "so where are they going to stay?"

"Probably in the living room or something."

"Janie's gonna be here too right?"

"And Jim. Of course. Your father already asked Jim if he could be there last night after you and Janie went up to bed."

"Good." BJ remembered something else. "Did you tell anyone about all of them?" She smiled as she motioned towards her mom's stomach.

"Nope, we figured we'd surprise everyone." Margaret laughed placing a loving hand on her belly.

"They'll be surprised…I still am!"

"Are you excited though?" The mother-to-be (again) asked.

"Of course I am. Not only do I get one little brother or sister, but now I get _four_! Who wouldn't be excited?!"

"Knock knock!" Hawkeye called into the room, carrying a trey with the eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice on it. When he put it on the bed in front of his wife, he bet down and kissed her on the nose, slipping a vase with a single rose onto the trey.

"Oh Hawkeye." Margaret smiled and kissed him back. "You're so sweet."

"Yeah well…" He winked at the love of his life.

BJ quietly slipped out of the room and up to hers to get dressed. When she got downstairs, everyone else was there, (minus Hawkeye and Margaret) and they all ate the delicious breakfast.

**Sunday- 2:30 a.m.**

"There." Janie had just finished the blanket that she was working on. "I'm done with this one." She tied off the piece of pastel green yarn that she was using and cut it so it looked good, but wasn't going to fall apart.

"And I'm almost done with this one." BJ only had a couple more stitches to do with the soft yellow before she was done. "There." She tied her piece off and held the blanket up. "Three down, one to go."

"Perfect. And you have three months to do it too. You got that one done in one weekend. Only the nights even!"

"Yeah, but I didn't have any homework this weekend. Usually I'm swamped!"

"Well, same here. Just do this in place of reading for a few days." Janie laughed. "You always have your nose in a book."

BJ laughed. "True. I'll try to get the other one finished before everyone comes for Christmas. If I set a date, then I'm more likely to get it done faster."

Janie folded the blanket she had made and went over to put it in the drawer where BJ had the one hidden. "Tomorrow, before Jim and I have to start heading home, do you suppose we could go sledding?"

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" BJ looked out of her window that faced the ocean and looked by the lighthouse. "Look, it's snowing!" In the light that the beacon gave off, the two girls could see that it was indeed snowing pretty hard.

"Maybe we'll get snowed in." Janie laughed. "Then we won't be able to get home."

"That would be fun." BJ replied, wishing it would happen. She really wanted to spend more time with her best friend than she was able to. They had spent so much time together back in Boston, and now the only time she got in contact with her was via telephone three or four times a week, other than when Janie got to come visit the Pierce home in Maine. She LOVED her new life in Crabapple Cove, but she did miss being able to see her best friend all the time. Sure she had made a couple friends at Crabapple Cove High School, but they couldn't replace Janie.

**Okay, so there you have it. Now you know how many babies the Pierces are expecting. Sorry I left you with that cliff hanger, but it was so much fun to do! Don't worry yet, there's still a lot to come and BJ and Benji will be getting together soon!**

**Keep the kind reviews and suggestions coming (they really help) and thanks for reading!**


	12. The Beginning of the Christmas Party

**Chapter 12**

**December 22****nd****, 1967**

"Janie! Honoria!" BJ had been up in her room, keeping a watch out for the guests that were expected to arrive at any time during the day. Dr. Winchester was going to give Jim and Janie a ride to the party, considering they lived in the same part of the same city. As soon as BJ saw the nice, blue car she bolted down the stairs.

"Where's the fire?" Hawkeye asked, wondering why his daughter was going down the steps two at a time.

"Janie and Honoria are here!" When she got to the second set of stairs, she hopped up on the banister and rode it down. "Oh, and Jim and Dr. Winchester."

"Hey Margaret! Dad! Our first guests have arrived." Hawkeye called to the others in the house. The two came out of the kitchen as Hawkeye jogged down the stairs.

Margaret stopped at the mirror smoothed out her green dress and fixed her hair a little. "How do I look?" She asked her husband.

"Like a million bucks." He suggestively raised an eyebrow as he put an arm around her shoulders. She playfully swatted him in the chest.

When the three made it out the front door, they saw their first guests, suitcases in hand and a big pile of presents in the trunk of the car. "Hi everyone!" Margaret pulled her coat a little tighter over her shoulders as her husband went to help with the luggage.

"Hello Margaret…" After the man with the Boston accent shook hands with his host, he went to give a hug to his hostess, but froze, a smile spreading across his face. "Why Margaret Pierce. Would I be too wrong to assume that you are expecting?"

"Not wrong at all! I would hope that's the only way I'd get this big!" She smiled and greeted the former 'Swamp Rat' with a hug. "How are you doing Charles?"

"Wonderful. And yourself?" He asked.

"Perfect. I couldn't be happier."

"Whoa, congratulations Mrs. Pierce." Honoria also seemed pretty surprised. She politely shook the blonde's hand.

"Thanks, but I'd really wish you would call me Margaret." She smiled back as she shook the girl's hand.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that." Honoria chuckled, her 'rich and preppy demeanor' no longer taking over her voice and making it sound unusually fake.

"Hello Jim, Janie." She smiled at the two red heads that she had become very familiar with over the years.

"Hi Margaret." Janie was carrying her suitcase with one hand and had her other arm around BJ's shoulders. Jim shyly waved with his pinky since he was carrying two suitcases and a package. He was usually quite talkative, but he took awhile to 'warm up'. Even if he _had_ known Margaret for as long as his little sister had been friends with BJ (And that had been a long time).

"Well come on in everyone, let's not stand out here freezing to death!" Hawkeye motioned everyone into the house, carrying the same amount as Jim. Margaret held the door open as they all made a couple trips, grabbing the presents that were still in the car after dropping off the suitcases by the stairs. She wanted to help carry things in, but Hawkeye wouldn't let her.

After the Winchesters and O'Donnells were pretty much settled in, with Charles' and Jim's stuff in their guest rooms and Honoria's and Janie's stuff in BJ's room, they all put the presents under the big tree in the living room and were talking about what had gone on with everyone since the last time they had seen each other back in June.

After about twenty minutes of talking, the Potter's arrived, many gifts and suitcases along with them as well. BJ had gone to answer the door. "Hi Sherman, Mildred. Come on in." She smiled.

"Well thank you Miss Beatrice." Mildred gently pinched the girls cheek.

BJ tried to put a genuine smile on her face, but in the back of her head she thought, 'What am I three?'

"Mildred, she's 14 years old, not three. Don't pinch the girl's cheek, she's a young lady, after all." Colonel Potter smiled, knowing the look that BJ had on her face from when his wife did that to his grandkids. "How are you BJ?"

"I'm great Colonel. Can I take your suitcases up to your room for you?" She asked politely.

"Well sure." He handed her his and Mildred handed her hers. "So, where are the others?" He asked.

"They're in the living room." BJ hurried and ran the suitcases up to the other guest room, wanting to be down to see the Potters' reaction to Margaret's little surprise.

By the time she got back downstairs, it was too late to see the older couple's reaction, but when she walked through the doorway, they were hugging and greeting everyone with huge smiles on their faces.

An hour later, the O'Reilys, Klingers, and Father Mulcahy had all arrived and they were all gathered around in the living room, talking and having a wonderful time. Johnny O'Reily stayed down stairs while BJ, Janie, Honoria, Kimmie Klinger, and Katie O'Reily all set up in BJ's room with their sleeping bags in the familiar pattern. In a big circle in the middle of the room like last time. BJ went over to her window that faced the street and watched, waiting for the last guests to arrive.

"Who's she waiting for?" Katie whispered to Janie.

"Guess." She whispered back.

"Oh, Benji?"

"Yup."

"He's here!" BJ called to the other girls who were talking to each other by their sleeping bags. Before anyone could say anything, BJ was downstairs and opening the door. The other girls followed close by and the adults that had gathered in the living room also went out to the little foyer by the front door to see what all the commotion was about. "Benji!" She didn't even grab her coat before she ran out into the cold and the foot of snow, and all she had on was her dress, white tights, and her black mary janes.

"BJ!" Benji smiled and ran to meet the girl he had been anxious to see, dropping his suitcase by the car. At the middle of the sidewalk, they reached each other and hugged.

"God, I missed you!" BJ told him, still in the boy's arms.

"I missed you too." Benji hugged her back.

"Yeah, nice to see you too BJ. You miss me?" Charlie asked, not expecting a reply as he walked by his twin brother and his obviously close friend with his suitcase.

"Oh Charlie, are you jealous?" Erin, who was now 17, carried her suitcase by the two and teased her little brother.

"Okay you two, come on." BJ Hunnicutt jokingly dragged his son away from BJ.

"Aw Dad!" Benji rejected, knowing his dad was just messing with him. Everyone was laughing at the little scene they had just witnessed and were greeting the Hunnicutts.

"Beej!" Hawkeye hugged his best friend.

"Hey Hawk! How ya doin'?" The, still mustache-less, BJ hugged his best friend back.

"Never better." Hawkeye put an arm around Margaret's shoulders and guided her over to where he was standing in the small foyer. Margaret looked up at her very good friend, beaming with excitement.

"Why Margaret!" BJ's eyes grew wide. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're huge!"

Margaret laughed. "Thank you! I should be, I'm having quadruplets after all!" This had been the first time she had mentioned just how many she was expecting since the guests had arrived and, hearing this, the whole room of people were silenced with surprise.

"Four?!" They all had looks of great shock in their eyes and huge smiles on their faces. Hawkeye, Margaret, Daniel, BJ, Janie, and Jim, were all having fun seeing their reactions.

"Yeah. My little major is having _four_ minors." Hawkeye stated proudly to the group, wrapping his arms around his wife.

**Later That Night**

"Hey, what are you guys doing in here?" Hawkeye had just walked into his dad's den where the boys would be staying. The girls were also in there.

BJ turned around. "Just playin' cards, dad."

"Boys and girls in the same room with no supervision: I don't think so." The raven haired man stood in the doorway and motioned the teenagers out of the room.

"Dad? What's going on?" BJ asked, sort of worried about why her father wouldn't let the girls be in the room with the boys.

"You guys are all about the same age and teenagers are different now than they used to be, and I don't want you in a room with a bunch of boys by yourself." BJ could see that her father had a look of worry in his eyes, but she still didn't understand.

"But Dad, there's five girls and only three boys."

"Look," Hawkeye guided his daughter out to the hall, "I'm sorry but I just don't want you hanging around boys by yourself."

"Why?" BJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When I was a kid, about your age, I had friends that were girls, sure, but now boys just have other things on their minds." His daughter was still looking at him with confusion on her face.

"But, the night you and mom got married, we all went down to the beach and hung out there for hours. We didn't '_do_' anything."

"You guys were at the beach without an adult around?" He wasn't mad, just a little upset.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Well, why don't you guys bring the cards out to the living room and be sociable." He smiled as he put his hand on his daughter's back, guiding her back into the den. He stuck is head in. "Come on guys. Grab the cards and come out here."

After Hawkeye had disappeared down the hall, everyone had thorough looks of confusion on their faces, all hearing what he had said. "What was that all about Beej?" Kimmie and Erin asked at the same time.

"I have no idea." BJ shrugged, "But I think we should probably get out there."

"Yeah, come on everyone." Janie picked up the cards. Charlie and Johnny picked up the marshmallows and pretzels that they were using as poker chips.

"Dad, can I talk to you?" Hawkeye had just gone to the kitchen where his dad was doing the many dishes.

"Well, of course. What is it?" He threw at towel at his son.

"Did you know that the kids went down to the beach during the reception last time everyone was here?" Hawkeye picked up a pan and dried it and put it away before moving onto the littler things.

"Sure I knew about it. I said it was okay for them to go down there." He looked up from the sink. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if you knew."

"You're afraid of BJ having a boyfriend aren't you? So you don't want her to spend time with boys by herself, even though she's with all of her girl friends." Daniel always knew what his son was thinking.

"How did you know?" He put away a couple of plates in the cabinet.

"I always know, son." Daniel smiled. "BJ's gonna grow up. I was the same way when you started liking the girls."

"Yeah, but we were different then. Girls were martians." Hawkeye laughed. The father and son had a long talk in the kitchen while they were washing, drying, and putting away _all_ of the dishes.

The teenagers took their cards and winnings into the living room where they spent the rest of the night playing in full supervision of the adults.

**Midnight**

Margaret yawned where she was sitting by her husband on the couch. "I'm beat. Goodnight everyone." Hawkeye got up quick to help her up.

"I think I'm gonna hit the sac too. You kids don't have too much fun." He told the large group of people.

Couple by couple and person by person, everyone went upstairs to their guest rooms. It had been a long day with all of the traveling for everyone. Pretty soon, the only ones left were the ever-energetic teenagers…and Daniel. He had decided that he would stay up with them since his son seemed to be having worries over the girls being with the guys by themselves.

"What do you think's in all of those?" Katie asked, not really directing her question to anyone. They had all seemed to have migrated over to the tree and were now anxiously looking at the wrapped boxes like they were all little five-year-olds. But, then again, Christmas always seems to bring out the kid in a person.

"I don't know, but I can't wait for Christmas." Charlie shook his head.

"Me neither." BJ was extra excited since this was the first Christmas she would be spending with her father.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Asked Johnny.

"No idea." BJ replied. "Do you know?" She looked up at her grandpa who was sitting in the chair by the fireplace at the other end of the living room, dousing the flames.

"I think your parents put something together for everyone to watch in the morning, but other than that, I'm not sure." Daniel shrugged.

"Oooh, what'd they do?" Kimmie asked in the small accent that she picked up from her mother.

"I think it's supposed to be a surprise, but you'll see tomorrow." Daniel smiled.

"I don't mean to be an old fuddy duddy, but I think I'm gonna go to bed too." Benji stood up from where he was sitting by BJ and yawned.

"Yeah, me too." Charlie also yawned as he stood up. The two boys started through the hallway and into Daniel's den where the sleeping bags were set up.

"Well, if you two are going, I might as well." Johnny got up and followed them down the hall like a lost puppy, much like his father.

"Well girls," Daniel looked at his watch, "it _is_ 12:30. Why don't you guys go up to BJ's room. I don't mind if you talk and all, I just want to go to bed myself." He chuckled as he got up. "Just, be quiet okay. Margaret needs her sleep." He had a very soft spot for his daughter-in-law.

"We will Dr. Pierce." Honoria smiled.

"Daniel, and have fun." He corrected as he watched the girls quietly make their way up the squeaky steps and up the other set of steps before he heard the door shut. He went to the kitchen, drank some warm milk like he did every night, and went up to his own room.

**BJ's Room**

"Awww, they're so cute." BJ had just showed the other girls the four baby blankets that Janie had helped with. She had gotten the last one done the night before. The girls all cooed over them and felt how soft they were.

"I hope they like them as much as you guys do." BJ chuckled as she put them away.

"Oh, they will." Honoria nodded. "My aunt, whom I was named after, made me a baby blanket like that." She went a little red. "And…truth be told, I still have it with me a lot of times."

"Don't feel bad Honoria, remember Taffy?" Erin pulled out a small stuffed animal from her suitcase. It was a brown and tan dog that looked like it had, at one time, been super soft, but was now pretty matted down. "I _still_ sleep with her every night. My dad gave her to me the day after he got home. Even though I had only just turned two, somehow I remember that day like it was yesterday." She reminisced, mainly in her own mind, but sharing parts of the story with everyone.

Everyone laughed as they recalled things that they had gotten a long time ago that they still needed to have around. BJ had a little pink blanket that her grandma had made for her when she was a baby that she still had under her pillow at night. But more recently, she depended on her _World's Best Daughter_ teddy bear, that she got from her father that first weekend that she knew him, to fall asleep at night.

"So, what do we want to do?" BJ asked after everyone was ready for bed. No one was really all that tired, even if they _had_ traveled from every-which-way to be to get there. Just seeing each other again was giving them extra energy.

"Well, we could play a game or listen to some music or something." Janie suggested.

"We could do both." BJ carried her pretty heavy record player over to the group and plugged it into the outlet that was by the door. The others went over to the shelf where she had all of her records. Most of them were Johnny Cash, but there were a few others.

"Here, how about this one?" Kimmie picked up BJ's favorite record.

"Yeah, that one's good." The others agreed.

"I never would have guessed you to be a 'Man in Black' kind of girl, Kimmie." BJ smiled as she put the record on and turned it down really low so that it wouldn't wake anyone up.

Pretty soon, the girls starting singing quietly:

_I hear the train a comin'It's rolling round the bendAnd I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on…_

By the time the song was over and they got to _'I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away'_, everyone was pretty out of breath from singing so low, but they were all laughing and having a good time, talking as the songs played through.

"Sounds like they're having fun." Margaret chuckled. She was laying in Hawkeye's arms. Their room was right under the group of girls and they could pretty much hear everything. Not that they were making _that_ much noise though.

"Want me to go up and make them go to bed?" Hawkeye asked his wife, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"No, let them have their fun. At least they're getting along good. They're not being that loud, anyway." She shifted, trying to get comfortable.

"You okay?" Hawkeye asked, a little worried.

"Oh yeah, it just feels like the little ones are having a tug of war tournament with their umbilical cords." Margaret laughed. The babies had become even more active in the past month. She reached over and grabbed Hawkeye's hand and placed it on her stomach. After a few minutes, she asked, "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah. That's incredible." Hawkeye smiled from ear to ear. "I can't believe it."

"You know," Margaret turned around so she was facing Hawkeye and cuddling up close to him, "when I was pregnant with BJ…I used to dream that I was right here." She chuckled, poking his chest softly. "Of course, _after_ BJ was born I had those dreams too."

Hawkeye chuckled a little, but Margaret could tell that his chuckle was a cover up for something deeper.

"I wish I could make it up to you, not telling you about her." Margaret had a few tears in her eyes, trying to feel what Hawkeye felt. "I can't say 'I'm sorry' enough." She reached up and gently touched is cheek with the back of her hand.

Hawkeye grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Margaret, like I've told you before: you thought you were doing what was best for her and that's all that matters." A teasing smile spread across his face. "And now I have four more chances at being a good father."

"You already are." Margaret propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over to kissed him. "BJ really loves you."

"I really love her too." He thought for a moment. "But I think I might have made her mad today."

"How come?" Margaret asked, laying back down.

"I think I embarrassed her because I said I didn't want her and the rest of the girls being alone with the boys." He really didn't want to get on his daughter's bad side.

"I'd have to agree with you on that." Margaret put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Maybe I'm being over protective?"

"No, you're just being a great father. See? I told you, you were one." Margaret laughed and put her head on his chest as he rubbed her back. "But, apart from Janie and the girls upstairs now, BJ had a lot of guy friends back in Boston. When she was younger she said she fit in better with the guys." Margaret chuckled, "That might be my fault though. I bought her G.I. Joe's instead of Barbie Dolls."

Hawkeye laughed and kissed his wife on the head. "Once an Army Brat, always an Army Brat."

"True, very true." Margaret nodded.

**There'll be more!**

**Okay, so next we'll see what the surprise is that Hawkeye and Margaret set up for their guests and see what the teenagers will do afterwards. I hope you don't mind this chapter…I didn't think it was the best, but really it's sort of a filler!**

**I just want to say thank you to Attheswamp, for giving me some incite about what would have been appropriate for a teenager in the 60's! Growing up some in the 90's makes it a little difficult! So-THANKS! Oh, and let's just **_**pretend**_** that G.I. Joe's were made a little earlier…after I wrote this chapter, I Googled it and it turns out that they were made in 1963 and BJ might have been a little too old to still be playing with them…oops!**

**I'd also like to thank everyone who has left a review! They mean a lot and keep the morale up! REVIEW SOME MORE!!**


	13. Who Would Have Thought?

**Chapter 13**

**December 23****rd****, 1967**

It was about 12:30 after everyone was done eating their lunch, and they were all in the living room waiting to see what Hawkeye and Margaret's surprise was. The teenagers were sitting on the big rug as the adults sat on the two big couches, the chairs, and a few lawn chairs that were brought in. Daniel and Hawkeye had set up the projector and the white screen by the fireplace. After everyone was sat down, Hawkeye had his daughter close the curtains and shut off the light.

"Okay, ladies and germs," He stepped up in front of everyone and they all quieted down. "Margaret and I put together a little presentation and we thought it would be fun to show it to everyone. You may remember that last month, when we called everyone, we asked you to all send a family portrait. Well, this is why." He motioned back to the projector. "Hit it dad!"

The first picture that came onto the screen was a group picture of the 4077th. It was the one that BJ remembered from her mother's nightstand and the copy that her father had on the end table by the couch. The former staff members laughed as they remembered when the picture was taken. "So, this little slideshow of pictures is called _Who Would Have Thought_." Hawkeye stood off to the side while everyone chuckled at the title of the little presentation. "Next picture please." He called to his dad.

As soon as the picture showed, everyone laughed seeing Radar holding his teddy bear by the radio. Radar blushed and his wife, Patty, chuckled as she pinched his cheek. "You were so cute."

"Thanks." Radar turned even more red.

"But, who would have thought that our little company clerk, who seemed to be scared to death of woman," Hawkeye motioned for his dad to changed the picture. The Radar on the screen now had a terrified look on his face as Nurse Backer had leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Everyone was laughing so hard that Hawkeye had to repeat himself, "Who would have thought that our little Radar would turn into a wonderful husband and father?" The picture on the screen changed to the O'Reily family portrait that they had sent. Katie, Johnny, Patty, Radar, their golden retriever-Sammy, and Radar's mother-Edna, stood in front of their farm house in Ottumwa, Iowa on a bright and sunny day. Everyone smiled as they looked at the family.

"Our next contestant on this little show, is Major Charles Emerson Winchester, the third." The picture changed to show a painting of Charles, looking rather upset.

"Hey, that looks familiar." Colonel Potter laughed as he recalled the painting he had done of the man sitting beside him. BJ looked over at Honoria. She was laughing so hard that she was now rolling on the floor laughing.

"That was shortly after I had gotten shanghaied into that miserable place. What do you expect me to look like?" Although the man sounded like he was serious, a smile was pulling at the edge of his mouth.

"Who would have thought that this guy…or this guy," the picture changed to a happier looking Charles, "would have ever found someone that would put up with him." Hawkeye smiled as Charles and his late wife's wedding picture came onto the screen.

"She was beautiful." Charlie looked over at the girl who was sitting next to him on the rug.

"She really was." Honoria looked sadly at the picture, wishing that she could have known her mother. She looked back at her father and saw a sad smile on his face.

"And who would have thought that someone like Chuckles over here, would have such a beautiful daughter?" The picture changed yet again to show a vacation photo of Charles and his daughter, Honoria. Charles stood behind his daughter with his hands on her shoulders and Honoria was looking up at her dad with a big smile on her face. They looked pretty happy.

The picture changed yet again to show Colonel Potter, sitting on Sophie. "Now who didn't love this sight?" Hawkeye asked the former members of the 4077th.

"SOPHIE!" Colonel Potter said excitedly.

"Yes yes, who would have thought that the man that wanted nothing but to spend more time with his horse when he had free time in that hell-hole we were at, would have had such a pretty lady like this back in the states?" Hawkeye chuckled along with everyone else as the picture changed to a very old, black and white, picture of Sherman and Mildred.

Colonel Potter and Mildred laughed as they looked at their old photo. "Do you realize that it's been almost 40 years since that photo has been taken Sherm?" Mildred asked her husband.

"Yep, and I can't believe it." The older man shook his head.

"Next picture please, Dad." Hawkeye looked at the crowd. "The next few pictures are kind of difficult to see the changes in, but we thought these would do just fine." He smiled as a picture of BJ (senior) came on. "Now, here we see BJ Hunnicutt in his natural state." Everyone laughed. The BJ on the screen was pretty drunk, had a cheesy mustache, and was slumped over his cot like someone (Hawkeye) had put him there.

BJ, off screen, covered his eyes in mock embarrassment as Peg poked him in the stomach and jokingly asked him, "What exactly were you doing?!"

"If I knew, I would tell ya." He shook his head and laughed with everyone else.

The picture changed, and Hawkeye went on. "Who would have thought that that drunken, slob of a man," he flashed a teasing smile to his best friend, "would have such a cute daughter and a beautiful wife like this." An older black and white photo came on the screen. Erin must have been about a year old and was snuggled in her mother's arms.

Erin's cheeks grew red. "Hawkeye!" She squealed in embarrassment.

"Aw Erin, you were adorable." Margaret reassured her.

The slide changed again, showing all of the Hunnicutts. Peg and BJ were in the back and in the front row was Charlie on the left, Erin in the middle, and Benji on the right. "Then, about nine months after the war ended, the twins were born." Hawkeye added with a chuckle as he looked at BJ and Peg with a teasing smile again, "Makes you wonder what they did as soon as he came home, doesn't it?" Everyone howled with laughter, including BJ and Peg who nodded in agreement.

Once again, the picture on the screen changed. This time, it showed Klinger in his Scarlet O'Hara outfit. Kimmie burst out with uncontrollable laughter as everyone else did the same. "You look just like him!" Benji told the girl who was sitting at the edge of the rug. She was laughing so hard that tears had started running down her cheeks.

Hawkeye was also laughing too hard for a moment to talk, but when he was able to he asked the audience between fits of laughter, "Now…who'd have thought that someone that dressed this good…could have ever met a woman that would stand to stand by him?!" No one could stop laughing. Soon Lee was in the same state as her daughter, with tears running down her cheeks as she laughed. The laughter eventually died down as the picture changed to Soon Lee and Max Klinger's wedding picture, right in front of the Swamp.

"I love the background." Margaret chuckled, remembering when the picture was taken.

"It seemed fit." The man with the big nose shrugged, still laughing a little.

"You were a beautiful bride, Soon Lee" Charles leaned over to tell her.

"Thank you." Soon Lee smiled and looked at her husband. "I never would have guessed that when I got married, I would be wearing my groom's old wedding dress." Another chorus of laughter came from the comment.

"And soon after, Kim Han Klinger came along." Hawkeye brought the attention back to the screen where Kimmie's baby picture was now. Off screen, Kimmie buried her head in her arms, also in mock embarrassment. Everyone cooed at her picture.

"What are you so embarrassed about? You were cute." Katie asked her in amusement. "What happened to that?" She teased. Laughing, Kimmie lightly slapped her friend on the leg.

"This is what I'm surprised about," Hawkeye walked over and pointed to the picture, around the nose area, "How did _Klinger's_ daughter get such a small nose?" Everyone laughed again.

"I've been wondering about that." Klinger chuckled, slyly glancing over at his wife who then playfully swatted him on the back of the head.

"Our next person, is none other than our own, Father Mulcahy!" Hawkeye motioned towards the screen. Daniel flipped the slide to show a picture up of the Padre in full priest attire. "Now, who would have thought that this kind, gentle soul, would have to put up with all of the horrors of the war, and still come out, sanity fully intact." Hawkeye smiled at the man who sat by Margaret on the other couch.

"Bless you Hawkeye." Father Mulcahy chuckled modestly.

"This man is an inspiration to all of us, and here's proof." Everyone looked at the screen and smiled as the picture changed to show him with the orphans hanging on him at the orphanage in Korea. Everyone in the picture had huge smiles on their faces.

After a moment, Hawkeye motioned to his father to change the picture. Everyone chuckled as Hawkeye tried to explain the next picture. "Yeah, well…you have to understand…uh, it was the night the officer's club opened." He shyly shrugged, everyone roaring into a fit of laughter. The picture was of, a clearly drunk, Hawkeye. He was standing on a table in the Officer's Club in his class A uniform, striking an odd pose that made him look like a ballerina. In one hand was a martini.

BJ looked at the picture of her father, laughing so hard that she almost choked on the water that she had just taken a drink of.

"You did look very good in your class A's, Honey." Margaret called to her husband, chuckling.

"Aw shucks." Hawkeye shrugged, a cheesy smile of gratitude spreading on his face. Regaining his 'composer', Hawkeye shook his head. "Now, who, honestly, would have thought that this man," the picture changed, "and this woman would have ended up together." The next picture was of Margaret, leaning against the signpost, a 'Swamp' martini glass in hand. Everyone chuckled at Hawkeye's comment, thinking how true it really was.

BJ smiled. She had seen many pictures from when her mother was in Korea, but this one was really good. Her mom was looking off to the side though. "Hey mom?" She turned around to ask.

"Yeah?"

"What were you looking at?"

Margaret chuckled, "Your father was putting bunny ears on Hunnicutt while he was taking the picture. I think he was trying to get me to smile or something." She shook her head, remembering how much fun the three had had that day.

"You know, I think I remember that. Was that on April fool's day?" Klinger asked.

"Yes it was, actually it was a couple days before that." BJ Hunnicutt nodded. "We just wanted a picture of the victim before Hawkeye stole her tent." The man laughed.

"You did what?!" Janie asked Hawkeye with surprise.

"On April Fool's day, BJ and I," he pointed at his best friend, "took Margaret's tent off of it's frame and hid it. We kept everything else in place though." Hawkeye laughed and looked at his wife. "Boy, was she ever mad!"

"How could I not be!?" Margaret replied, eyes twinkling.

Hawkeye chuckled, "Anyway, who would have thought that these two," the picture changed again to show a picture of Hawkeye and Margaret arguing in the mess tent, "would have ended up having a daughter?" Hawkeye smiled as the picture changed. The screen showed a picture of Margaret with BJ in her arms. BJ must have been about six months old at the time. They were in their old back yard, by the lilac bushes. Hawkeye just looked at the picture for a long time, wishing he could have been there. Finally, after about five minutes of no commentary, Daniel flipped the slide.

Coming out of his little 'trance', Hawkeye continued, "I didn't know about my little girl until she was hardly a little girl anymore." The picture had changed to one that was taken the first weekend that they had known each other were.

"Wow, you really do look like your father." Father Mulcahy told the girl who had been in the picture.

BJ just smiled, remembering how a little twist of fate brought her and her father together. If it hadn't been for that bus leaving and Honoria setting the whole thing up, she probably never would have met the man that she had already become very close to.

Hawkeye motioned to Daniel. This time, when the picture changed, it showed Hawkeye and Margaret's wedding photo. They were standing on the beach and the ocean was the beautiful, natural backdrop. Another picture came up and everyone chuckled as Margaret blushed a little. "And also, we can't forget that four more little Pierces are on their way." The proud father carefully stepped over the teenagers on the rug and walked over to his wife. The picture on the screen was of Margaret, standing at profile, revealing just how big she already was.

Smiling, Margaret finished from where she had stood up with help from Hawkeye, "So, we've all changed considerably and I'm guaranteeing that everyone, at least once during this little presentation, asked themselves: Who'd of thunk it?" Both Hawkeye and Margaret took a small bow as everyone clapped. The picture on the screen now showed the big group photo that they had taken at Hawkeye and Margaret's wedding and everyone was in it.

BJ jumped up and turned the lights on and opened the windows at her parent's request.

"That was perfect you two." Colonel Potter gave a thumbs up to his former head nurse and chief surgeon.

"I'd have to agree." BJ Hunnicutt stood up and gave his best friend a pat on the back. "Who would have thought that all of those changes would have happened?" Everyone in the room nodded as they told the two 'creators' of the slideshow just how much they loved it.

**Later That Day**

"It's too bad we have to go back _up_ the hill too." Janie complained as she pulled her sled behind her, walking up the hill. All of the teenagers had gone out to the hill that went down to the beach and had been sledding since about two o'clock. It was a good thing that Hawkeye and his dad use to build them to sell for the kids in the little town.

"Oh, quit you're belly-aching." BJ teased her best friend as she ran to catch up with her.

"You know, is it a bad thing that we're all over thirteen, yet we're still sledding?" Katie asked as she also jogged to catch up to the two girls.

"Why would it be a bad thing?" her brother asked.

"Shouldn't we be doing something more, I don't know, sophisticated?" She asked him, not really believing what she was saying.

"Since when did you turn into a 'sophisticated' person?" Kimmie joked with her friend.

"You're right, stupid question."

"Man, I haven't done this since we came up for Christmas a few years ago." Erin looked at her two brothers who were a little farther down the hill than the other girls and Johnny. She was trying her best to catch up with the boys, pulling the pretty heavy runner sled behind her.

After everyone had come back to the top of the hill, they all lined up and took their places. "So, where's the finish line?" Honoria asked as she sat down on the sled.

"That big stick again, right?" Charlie asked the others.

"That sounds right." BJ nodded.

"Okay, ready? Set! GO!" They all shouted and took off as soon as they said go. Soon they were all racing down the hill and zigzagging around each other. The first one across the 'line' was Benji, followed by Honoria, then Erin.

They all laughed as they commented on how much fun that had been. "What do you say we go back inside and have some hot chocolate or something?" BJ asked, her snowsuit soaking wet.

"I would have to agree there." Janie told her as she started back up the hill.

"Same here. Besides, I'm freezing! It doesn't get this cold in California!" Erin laughed.

"It doesn't even get this cold in Iowa!" Johnny added. "And it gets COLD!"

When they all managed to get back to the house, it was getting dark. They all gathered around the back door and took off their boots, snow suits, gloves, mittens, and hats. "You guys looked like you were having fun." Margaret came over to take some of the gloves and hats over to the heat register to dry.

"We were." They all seemed to respond at once.

"Here, we made you some hot chocolate." Peg Hunnicutt motioned over to the table where eight cups of that wonderfully warm liquid was sitting.

"Drink up kids, we're taking everyone to the Lobster Shack!" Daniel came in and helped Margaret clear the area by the back door. That night was a lot of fun for everyone and everyone was excited that it was one day closer to Christmas.

**Well, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed Hawkeye and Margaret's surprise as much as the guests did. There will, of course, be more and I hope you'll continue with your kind reviews!**


	14. CHRISTMAS!

**Chapter 14**

**Christmas Eve, 1967**

It was about 6:30 and everyone was once again in the living room. Everyone except for the Potters, Daniel, Margaret, and Hawkeye were sitting by the tree and everyone was eating fondue. It had been a Pierce Christmas tradition that had been around since Daniel was just a little boy.

"Okay Janie, are you about done with the fork?" BJ jokingly nudged her friend with her elbow.

"In a minute, hold on." Janie dipped her pig-in-a-blanket into the cheese and put it on her plate.

"Finally." BJ rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. They didn't have enough of the fondue forks, so everyone had to double up.

"Ladies, this is wonderful." Hawkeye exclaimed from where he sat on the couch next to his wife. The women had prepared a ton of food that could be dipped into the three kinds of cheeses. "Would you like more Sweetheart?" He asked Margaret as she just finished her last cheese covered meatball.

"Sure. Thanks." She shrugged, "I'd get it myself but _somebody_ won't let me." Margaret grinned up at her husband.

"Sorry." He smiled back and kissed her on the top of the head. "I'm just looking out for my kids." He placed a gentle hand on her stomach. When Margaret looked up at him with a serious look on her face, but eye's twinkling in fun, he added, "And my wonderful wife."

"I know, I know." She nodded in mock exasperation.

Chuckling, Hawkeye asked, "Want the same thing?"

"That sounds good."

"Excuse me!" Hawkeye carefully stepped over everyone to get to the pot of cheese and the large trey of different meats.

"Jeez Hawk, can't let anyone have a good meal can you?" BJ Hunnicutt joked with his best friend.

"I just don't want you to eat it all." He shot back, his smile widening.

"What do you need Dad?" BJ asked, looking up from where she was sitting cross-legged by the big trey.

"Well, I need three of the big meatballs for your mother and hmmm, I'll take the uh," It was hard to decide, it all looked so good, "I'll take a couple of the pig-in-a-blankets." He handed her the plate since it would be easier for her to put them on there than it would be for him, getting in the way of everyone.

"Here you go." BJ handed him the plate, full of the things he asked for, dipped in cheese.

"Thank you Beej." He messed up her hair and made his way back to the couch. "Here you go madam." He put her meatballs on her plate, talking in a very fake French accent.

"Merci beaucoup." Margaret laughed. "Do I have to tip my waiter?"

"A kiss would do just fine." Hawkeye flashed her one of his smiles that drove Margaret crazy and made her heart flutter. When he bent down for her to kiss him on the lips, she reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "Party pooper."

"See me later." She winked.

"I'll hold you to that." He winked back as he sat down.

About an hour later, the cheese was all gone, along with all of the things to dip into it. Everyone was stuffed and watching_ It's a Wonderful Life_ on TV. BJ and BJ (Hunnicutt) had taken all of the dishes, forks, the fondue pot, stand, candle, and the big trey to the kitchen.

BJ really liked her 'nick-namesake' and loved to see him and her dad together, laughing and playing jokes on each other. Just in the past two days the house had been jumping with one practical joke after another that the two were playing. Last night, Hawkeye and Margaret had found that their bed had been short sheeted. That morning, while the Hunnicutts were downstairs helping to set up for the slideshow, they went up to short sheet theirs for revenge.

"Hey, she's from Iowa! _Denison_, Iowa!" Radar pointed out as a close up of Donna Reed came on the screen. The lights were turned out and the Christmas tree was illuminating the room, as well as the television.

"You say that like it means something." Charles teased his younger friend.

"Well, considering that no one famous ever comes from Iowa, I thought I'd point it out." Radar stated seriously. Realizing his friend was kidding around with him, he chuckled softly.

"Shhh!" Everyone else looked back at the two, pretending to be mad, but actually enjoying the commentary.

When the movie was over, there weren't many dry eyes. It was about 9:00 and everyone was heading out of the living room, and up to bed.

"Where are you going?!" BJ (Hunnicutt) and Hawkeye asked everyone. "We still have one more thing to do!"

As everyone sat down again, they all asked, "What?"

"Well, what would Christmas be without," Hawkeye pulled out a small book from behind his back, "_The Night Before Christmas_?! Come on, BJ and I rehearsed this." He chuckled as he opened the book and his best friend recited.

"_'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…_" BJ read as Hawkeye started walking around, fingers on his head and nose scrunched up, trying his best to be 'mouse-like'. Everyone laughed as the two men continued.

Hawkeye read on as BJ slipped out to the kitchen for a moment. When he came back, Hawkeye was at the part that said, "_And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof/ The prancing and pawing of each little hoof./ As I drew in my hand, and was turning around/ Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound./ He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot/ And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot…_" BJ had walked in wearing a Santa suit that had been stuffed with pillows. He also had on a fake white beard with a mustache, actually matching the beard this time as opposed to the time he dressed as Santa way back when in Korea. Everyone laughed as he showed up. He had the teenagers rolling on the floor, they were laughing so hard.

When the story was over, everyone headed upstairs to go to bed. BJ and Peg found that their bed had been short sheeted and were chuckling as they tried to straighten it out.

"You suppose they figured it out yet?" Hawkeye laughed as he crawled into bed next to Margaret.

"Oh, I think they're probably trying to fix it by now." Margaret smiled as she scooted into his arms.

"I would think so." He nodded. "So, do I get my tip now?" Hawkeye asked, eyebrow raised suggestively.

"Well of course." She leaned over to kiss him goodnight.

"Perfect tipping ma'am." He smiled, eyes shining. "Merry Christmas Margaret."

"Merry Christmas Hawkeye." She kissed him again. "I couldn't ask for a better present."

"Neither could I." Hawkeye hugged his wife close. "Merry Christmas to you guys too." He looked down at the rather large bump in Margaret's Christmas nightgown. Within the hour, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…

**The Next Day-Christmas!**

"Come on! Wake up!" Erin woke up before everyone else at about 7:00 in the morning. The girls had made a little pact that the first person to wake up on Christmas morning would wake everyone else up too. She was now trying to do that, but it turned out to be a much harder task than she imagined. Everyone seemed to be really sound sleepers. Finally she resorted to her pillow that she had used the night before and started giving everyone a 'wake up call' that she hoped would work.

"What do you want, Erin?" BJ asked, still half asleep.

"I just thought I'd wake you up seeing as how it's Christmas!" Erin went to whack someone else with the pillow.

"Oh yeah!" BJ perked up almost instantly. "Wake up everyone!" She grabbed her pillow and helped Erin wake everyone up.

"You better have a good reason for this Pierce and Hunnicutt!" Honoria buried her head in her pillow.

"Uh, yeah. Pretty good reason. It's Christmas!" BJ yelled, trying again to get everyone else to wake up.

"Oh yeah!" All of the girls instantly sprang awake and sat up. After they were done with their 'morning stretch and yawn' they crawled out of their sleeping bags and got dressed.

"Do you suppose anyone's up?" Janie asked as she adjusted her belt on her dress.

"Probably not." BJ replied, brushing her hair. "We could probably get down to the bathroom before there's a big rush."

"Probably not a bad idea. It was murder yesterday. This big of a house and only three bathrooms?" Katie tied her hair back and started braiding it. She was good at braiding it behind her back, even though her hair was down to her hips.

"I know. Wouldn't you think there would be more?" BJ shrugged.

"Well, I'm gonna go down and use one of them. Be right back." Erin chuckled, grabbed her toothbrush from her bag and headed down the steps, a few other's following with their toothbrushes.

After all of the girls were done getting ready, they went to wake up their parents. BJ quietly opened her parents' door and walked over to the bed. "Mom, Dad, wake up! It's Christmas!" She softly shook her mom awake.

"Beej, what is it?" When Margaret saw her daughter in the dress she had gotten for the special occasion though, she remembered. "Oh yeah, Merry Christmas sweetheart. I guess you want to go down and start opening presents right?" She chuckled as she struggled a little to sit up.

"That's the main idea." BJ smiled and gave her mom a hug. "Merry Christmas."

"I'll wake up Sir Sound-asleep here and we'll be down in a half an hour okay." She grabbed her daughter's hand and smiled. "And don't start without us."

"We won't." BJ laughed, "Maybe." She went to meet the rest of the girls downstairs in the kitchen.

"Hawkeye." Margaret turned around and shook her husband after BJ left. "Hawkeye, wake up!"

"Snerfel blurfel." He moaned, still pretty much asleep.

Margaret grinned as she recalled something that would wake him up. "Hawkeye!" She started in a little bit of a panicky voice, "I think I'm going into labor!" She smiled and sat back as she watched her husband's reaction.

"What?! Now?! Really?! Oh my God! Seriously?! Now?! It's too early!?" He shot up in a panic, his eyes huge with worry. "Are you alright?"

"Hawkeye relax! I was just messing with you! You wouldn't wake up, so I had to try something!" She started laughing as she put her hands on his shoulders. "Is this what it's gonna be like when it really is time?" She started laughing even harder. "You should have seen the look on your face, Honey. It was priceless."

Hawkeye tried to relax, but was still breathing hard due to the lack of oxygen from panicking so much. "I'm glad you find my almost having a heart attack so amusing." He looked at her with a smile pulling at the sides of his mouth.

"Oh Honey, I'm sorry. I just thought it would be funny." She started in a serious tone, but ended up laughing as she said funny. "And it was!" She scooted over so she could give him a hug. Hawkeye also started laughing uncontrollably.

"So," he tried to catch his breath from the laughter now, "what was the rude awakening for?"

"It's Christmas! I told BJ we'd be down in half an hour." Margaret yawned and went over to the closet. "Which one should I wear?" She asked as she pulled out a couple of her maternity dresses.

"You look beautiful in anything, Darling" Hawkeye got up and hugged her from behind. "Merry Christmas Honey." After Margaret turned around to give him a hug back, he went to the bathroom to do his 'morning routine' of brushing his teeth, shaving, and other necessities.

About 45 minutes later, everyone had gathered in the living room and were sorting out the presents. Everyone had a pile by them that was steadily increasing in size as the beautifully wrapped boxes were handed out.

"Okay, so who wants to start?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I think it's only fair that the hosts and hostesses start, Daniel." Colonel Potter suggested.

"Took the words out of my mouth Colonel." Radar nodded.

"Why don't you start Beej." Margaret motioned over to her daughter's pile of presents.

"Aw shucks, you twisted my arm." BJ grabbed the small package that was at the top.

"It's not much, but that one's from me." Benji told the girl from across the room.

"I'm sure it'll be great." BJ smiled back. When she got through the tons of tape (that proved that he had wrapped it himself-showing that he really cared) she pulled out the little cardboard piece that a silver necklace was strung around. "It's lovely. Thanks Benji."

"Look inside." He urged her.

BJ noticed that it was a locket and opened the little clasp. A smile once again formed when she saw what the pictures were. On one side was a picture of Benji and on the other was a picture of BJ. They had been taken at the wedding reception and they were very good pictures of both of them. "Thanks." She flashed a smile over to the boy, that she had grown to really like, as she put her new locket on.

"No problem." He shrugged.

"Your turn." Hawkeye reached over and picked up the top package that was on Margaret's pile.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. When she read the label, she smiled up at Colonel Potter. "I can't imagine what it is?"

"Well, I should warn you, we got it awhile ago." The older man told her.

Margaret unwrapped the box and opened it. "Oh it's beautiful Sherman, Mildred. Thanks." She pulled out a soft pink sweater.

"Yeah, well, we didn't know you were expecting, so it might not fit for awhile." Mildred leaned over to tell her.

"Oh, that's alright. It will give me that bit of will power I'll need to loose the baby fat." All of the experienced mothers laughed at the comment. "Thanks you guys." She smiled over at the couple that sat on the other couch.

"Hawkeye's turn!" BJ (Hunnicutt) called to his friend.

"Okay." Hawkeye got up to look at his pile. "Hmmm, can I open this one?" He saw that the label said it was from his daughter, so he looked over and asked, just in case there was supposed to be some sort of order in opening them.

"Yeah." BJ smiled at him. She was nervous to see if he would like it. It took her forever to make and find all of the things she would need for it.

"It's heavy." He held it for a moment, guessing what it was.

"Will you just open it!?" BJ teased her father.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed, knowing that the delay would drive everyone nuts. He flipped the package over and ripped the paper. When he took it out of the wrapping, he could see that it was a large, leather bound book. When he flipped it over again, the front cover had small gold letters on it that read, _To the best Dad in the world- I know it wasn't your idea to not be there to see me grow up, so I thought this might help a little to fill in some of the blanks. Your Loving Daughter, Beatrice. Christmas 1967_ A soft smile spread across Hawkeye's face as he looked up at his daughter. She could see that he had tears in his eyes.

"Look inside." She gently urged.

Hawkeye opened the book and everyone watched, waiting to see what all the book was. When he opened it and looked on the first page, he smiled from ear to ear, seeing what the book was filled with. BJ had found every picture she could from when she was little and had put them in a big photo album, complete with captions for every photo. On the first couple of pages there was a copy of BJ's birth certificate, a picture of Margaret in the hospital-proudly holding the newborn baby girl, and the little pink hat that the hospital gave BJ was also in there. Hawkeye put the book aside and got up to give his daughter a hug.

"You like it?" She asked, smiling as she hugged him.

"I love it. Thank you." He had tears in his eyes again as he hugged his daughter. "Thank you so much."

"Any time." BJ chuckled as she pulled away a little and looked up at her dad. "You really are the best dad a girl could ever ask for."

"Well, you're the best daughter a man could ever ask for." He chuckled.

It took quite a few hours for the large group to open all of their presents. Hawkeye gave his daughter a new typewriter and she LOVED it. Both Hawkeye and Margaret gave her an 8 track player with a bunch of 8 tracks, with bands including The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, and The Rolling Stones. She also got a couple more Johnny Cash records.

Everyone had a very merry Christmas and it was BJ's favorite by far, just seeing as how her father was finally there.

**Later**

"So, did you have a good Christmas?" Hawkeye asked his daughter while they were picking up all of the wrapping paper in the living room as the ladies were making dinner.

"I had the best Christmas ever, and the presents were just a bonus." She laughed.

**So, that's how their Christmas went, and I hoped you enjoyed it as much as they did! Of course their holiday break isn't over and nobody's going home yet. Stay tuned to see what happens next! Thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews! There will definitely be more!**


	15. A Surprise Baby Shower

_Okay, so I redid the last paragraph or so of chapter 14, so before you read this, you might want to reread the last few paragraphs. I thought the way I redid it would be a little more likely to happen. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks to everyone who told me that it shouldn't have been like that, but in a nice way! Lol. Thanks again to my 'Creative Consultant' too! (Thanks Maggie!)_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**December 28**__**th**__**, 1967**_

While everyone else was out shopping in the few stores that were in Crabapple Cove, Margaret, Hawkeye, and BJ stayed home. Hawkeye was in the living room, looking at the photo album that his daughter had given him. She was right, it did sort of fill in some of the blanks, but nothing could fully fill the spaces that he felt when he looked at the pictures. Every time he saw the first picture, the one with Margaret holding BJ soon after she was born, he sort of felt an empty space, but he kept telling himself that he would be there when the quadruplets were born, and he couldn't wait.

Seeing that her dad was looking at the photo album that she made, BJ walked into the living room and sat down on the arm of the chair that Hawkeye was sitting in. "What was with that dress?" She shook her head, sort of embarrassed, looking at her school picture from kindergarten.

"You were cute." Hawkeye chuckled. Looking up at his daughter, he smiled a little sadly. "I hope you don't mind the present I gave you, I mean this is so sentimental and I got you something that anyone could get you."

"Dad, I love my typewriter. And besides, it _is_ sentimental." BJ smiled.

"Yeah?" He wondered how it was.

"Well, you know how I really want to be an author someday? Your present just gave me a little key to the future." She chuckled and bent down to give her father a hug around the neck. "I love it Dad, really."

"Well, I'm glad. I never thought of it that way." He laughed as he flipped another page.

"That's embarrassing!" BJ laughed, looking at the picture from Halloween, the same year she had been in kindergarten. She was dressed up as a soldier, complete with little combat boots and everything. Her mom was holding her and she wore her old uniform as well.

"Where did you get the uniform?" Hawkeye was still laughing, his daughter just looked so sweet in the picture, despite the fact that she was trying to look tough. It didn't really help matters that she was wearing a wool cap like Radar's.

"Mom bought it for me when we visited the Potters. It was the smallest size they had and it didn't fit me when I was four. But, by then I could wear it." She chuckled, "I wore it a lot too." The two looked at the photo album together for about an hour before Margaret came in, carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Sure is quiet around here. Do you know when will everyone be back?" She sat the cookies on the coffee table and sat down.

"I think they said they'd be back around 3:00." Hawkeye smiled up at his wife and then to the coffee table. "Cookies!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Here you go." She picked up two and reached over to hand one to her husband and daughter. "What do you suppose they're doing?" Margaret asked.

"Well, they said they were shopping." BJ replied. She looked down at her watch that read 2:45.

"Not much to shop for in Crabapple Cove." Hawkeye pointed out.

About twenty minutes later, they heard car doors shut and everyone came in. "We're back!" BJ (Hunnicutt) called from the foyer as everyone took their coats off. Before they all came into the living room, Mildred came into the living room and over to her hostess.

"Hey Margaret, what do you say we step into the kitchen for a moment?" She asked, starting towards the kitchen.

"Huh?" Margaret followed, but looked extremely confused.

When the two women were in the kitchen, Mildred gave her a little heads up. "We just thought we'd show our appreciation to our hostess today. You'll see in a minute or two." She smiled motherly at Margaret, "I think you'll like it."

"Oh, well…thanks." Margaret smiled, trying to figure out what they were doing.

"So uh…what's going on?" Hawkeye and BJ asked, almost simultaneously.

"Well, we thought we'd throw Margaret a little baby shower." Colonel Potter explained. "It was your father's idea."

"Really?!" Hawkeye exclaimed, "That's a wonderful idea! But, I don't really have anything for her yet."

"Yes you do son, I thought you could give her this." Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "I went to the jewelry store and saw this and thought of her." Hawkeye opened the box to see a silver bracelet with six little charms on it. There was one small silver smiley face, four small silver baby booties, and a bigger charm that had the words _Wife, Mother, Friend_ on it. It also had tiny red hearts on the back of the charm.

"That's great dad, she'll love it." Hawkeye smiled at his father. "Thanks."

"Any time." Hawkeye's father reached behind him and pulled out pink and blue streamers. "Here, help decorate."

"Mom, come in here!" BJ called for her mother.

"Sounds like they're ready for you." Mildred followed Margaret to the living room.

As soon as she saw the decorations and everyone yelled surprise, a look of pure astonishment plastered her face. "What's going on!?"

"It's a baby shower Margaret. We wanted to throw it for you before everyone left!" Daniel explained.

"Well, I'm flattered." Margaret looked at everyone with a smile. "Thanks."

"Well come on mom, you have to open your presents." BJ took her mom's hand and lead her to the chair that the presents were piled around.

"I feel like it's Christmas all over again!" Margaret giggled excitedly.

After everyone was sat down, they had Margaret open her presents. "Here Margaret, open ours first." Peg handed her a rather large box that had green paper on it with little pacifiers all over it. She looked at her husband and laughed, "BJ even helped me pick some of it out."

"Oh jeez, whoopee cushion diapers?" She looked over at her old colleague and gave him a teasing smile.

"Just open it." BJ returned the teasing smile.

"Okay." Margaret chuckled as she carefully ripped the paper and opened the box. Inside, were two stacks of tiny little clothes. One stack had four little pink outfits and the other had four little blue outfits. "Aw, Peg these are adorable. Thanks you guys." She pulled one of each out to show everyone. They all cooed at the adorable little outfits.

"You're welcome." Peg replied.

"Here Margaret, open ours next." Colonel Potter got up and handed her two packages.

"I love the wrapping paper." She smiled at the Potters.

"Sherman picked it out." Mildred squeezed her husband's hand affectionately.

"I could tell." Margaret laughed, looking back at the pink and blue horses that were on the paper. "I can't wait to see what it is." She wanted to save the paper because it was so cute, so she carefully tore the tape away from the first package and pulled the box out. When she opened it, she started laughing. "These are adorable!" She held up the contents of the first package so everyone could see. They all laughed as they saw the four tiny brown cowboy hats.

"Let me guess, does the second package consist of Zane Grey children's books?" Winchester chuckled.

"You'll see." Mildred laughed. "Go ahead Margaret, open the other one."

"Okay." She put the little hats back in the box and set them by the chair. "I love those." Margaret chuckled as she started opening the second box. When she saw what was in it, she started laughing again. When she held them up, everyone laughed. The second package contained four pairs of little brown cloth cowboy boot booties. "I can't wait to see them in these. Thanks you guys." Margaret laughed as she put the package down by the others.

"Here, open ours." Janie also got up and handed Margaret a package with pastel yellow paper and a big pink and blue bow.

"Thank you Janie, Jim." She untied the ribbon and ripped the paper. When she saw what the package was, she chuckled. "I'm sure these will come in handy." The two had given her eight bottles and eight pacifiers, each one a different color.

"She _still_ needs a pacifier a lot." Jim looked teasingly over at his little sister. Janie reached over and gave him a playful swat on the back of the head.

"Well, that's very nice of you two. Thanks." Margaret chuckled at Jim's comment, "You know, I could let you have one of these Janie."

"Can I make _him _use it?" She shot over to her brother.

After a moment of laughter, Patty O'Reily called from across the room, "Open ours next!"

"Okay. This one right?" Margaret asked as she picked out the package that looked like it would be from them. It had little teddy bears all over it which instantly made her think of Radar.

"That's the one." Patty nodded.

"Oooh, what is it?" Margaret shook the package gently, trying to figure it out.

"There's only one way to find out." Radar pointed out.

"Very true Radar." She smiled at the former company clerk and tore the paper. She pulled out the rather large box and opened the lid. "Aww, thanks you guys. They're so sweet." Margaret pulled out the contents of the box to show everyone. In it were four medium sized tan teddy bears.

"There's more." Katie pointed out.

"Oh there is." She looked back into the box and pulled out eight little hats for the bears. There were blue ones and pink ones.

"We didn't know if they were going to be all boys or all girls or both so we thought we'd get four of each color." Patty explained.

"That's very sweet of you. Thanks." She took out the hats and put one of the pink ones on a bear. Everyone 'aww-ed' over how cute the hats were on the bears for a moment. "Who's should I open next?"

"Here you go, you could open mine." Father Mulcahy handed her the package that was from him.

"Oh, it's heavy." She ripped the paper off, and turned it over to find that it was a book filled with nursery rhymes and drawing. "Well thank you Father."

"Oh, you're welcome. My sister and I always enjoyed hearing those stories when we were children so I thought I would try to find a big book of them. I hope you like it."

"I love it Francis. Thanks." Margaret smiled at the priest.

It was Charles this time that requested that Margaret open the gift he and Honoria picked out for her. Well, it was more Charles who picked it out. Honoria just nodded when her father asked if it would be good.

When Margaret opened it, she laughed a little. "There have been theories that there are ties between a child's IQ and what they listen to and one of the best things for a child to listen to is Mozart."

"Well, that's very nice of you Charles." Margaret chuckled.

"Will we have to hear it?" Hawkeye asked, teasing his friend.

"I don't know Pierce, it might do your IQ a world of good as well." The two shot back and forth in fun for a few minutes.

"Here Major, I mean Margaret. Open ours." Klinger accidentally addressed her how he had for years. Everyone laughed as Max blushed a little. "Sorry Margaret."

"Quite alright Sergeant." She laughed as she picked up the package. After she opened the box she held up what was in it. There were four bibs and each had writing on the front. One had major's cluster and said _Major Cutie_. The other one had captains bars on it and said _Captain Sweetheart_. The one with a lieutenants bar said _Lieutenant Lovable_. The last one had corporals stripes and said _Corporal Cuddly_. "These are so cute you guys. Thanks."

"We thought of you as soon as we saw them." Soon Lee smiled.

"Well, I love them." Margaret chuckled.

"Glad you like them." Replied Max.

"Here Mom, I was going to wait to give you these later, but I think now would be as good of time as any." BJ handed her mother a big yellow bag.

"Oh BJ, these are beautiful." She took out the blankets that were under the tissue paper. "Did you make these?"

"Yep, well," she picked out the one that Janie made, "Janie actually made this one so I could have them done in time."

"Well, that was nice of you Janie. It's lovely."

"Oh, I want BJ to get all of the credit Margaret." Janie smiled as she put an arm around her best friend's shoulders.

"Well, thanks BJ." BJ went over and gave her mother a hug.

"Your welcome. I hope they like them too." BJ looked down at her mother's stomach.

"They will." She hugged her daughter back and then looked at her husband and father-in-law. "So, who's should I open first?"

"Why don't you open Hawkeye's first." Daniel looked over at his son. "I think you're going to like it."

"Well of course." Margaret grabbed the package that was sitting on an envelope with Daniel's handwriting on the front. After she tore the paper and opened the box, her eyes filled with unshed tears of joy. "Oh, Hawkeye. That's so sweet."

Hawkeye looked a little guilty. "I'm glad you like it, but I didn't really…"

Before he could finish, Daniel piped in, "He didn't really go out and _buy_ it, but he told me about it earlier this morning and asked me if I could go pick it up for him."

"Well, I love it very much. Thanks Honey." She hugged her husband. Daniel looked at his son and gave him a wink that said 'no problem'.

"Well Margaret, it looks like your just down to mine." Daniel reached over to give his daughter in law the envelope.

After she opened the envelope, she pulled the card out and read out loud, "'Next month, since it will probably be your last bit free time that you'll be able to spend by yourselves, I'm sending you and Hawkeye to a nice bed and breakfast in New Hampshire for the week where you two can get that last bit of relaxation before you are run off your feet by the four little ones. There will probably be a surprise when you get home too. Hope you'll like it! Love Daniel'." Margaret's smile was a mile wide and Hawkeye also looked very happy. "Daniel this is wonderful. Thank you so much." She got up awkwardly and gave her father in law a hug in gratitude.

"Well, you deserve it." Daniel hugged Margaret back.

When Margaret gently pulled away, she looked at everyone. "Thank you all, so much! I love the gifts." Afterwards, they all ate a cake that Daniel had bought and had a lot of fun for the rest of the day.

**Well, their break still isn't over and there's one more holiday to celebrate while everyone's there! Hope you liked the shower. Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	16. New Years Eve

**Chapter 16**

**December 31, 1967**

It was New Years Eve and the Christmas tree had reluctantly been taken down from its spot by the fireplace in the living room. Where the pink and blue streamers were for Margaret's baby shower, there were now silver and gold streamers and banners with _Happy New Year_ written on them.

There were a few different things going on in the rather large living room. The guys had all gathered around a few card tables that they had joined together, playing poker in one corner. The women were at the opposite corner, talking about many different things, laughing and joking with each other. Then there were the teenagers, who were scattered around in the middle, tinkering around with their Christmas presents.

Charlie and Benji were given the Monopoly board game (since Waggle Jr., the Hunnicutts' lovable Sheltie had gotten hold of and chewed through the board) and now were playing it again, this time with BJ and Janie. They had started a few hours ago and were still having fun. "Oh jeez." BJ shook her head, not wanting to hear the outcome of where she had just had to put her piece. She always played as the little Scottie dog and right now that little silver dog was resting on one of the many spaces with a building on it. And in this case it was actually _two _buildings.

"Oooh, that looks like…hmmm…let's see." Charlie tried to do some 'ciphering' over how much his brother's, seemingly, 'girlfriend' owed him. "Well, let's see…Park Place, two hotels…hmmm."

"Here, before you hurt yourself, that ought to do it." BJ laughed as she gave the boy all of her money. She had never been very good at the game and had very little money when her turn started this time. "I'm out. I'm gonna go see how the poker game's going. Maybe I'll have more luck there."

"Need a loan?" Charlie teased her, his colorful money pile growing.

"I'll manage, thanks." She shot back, a teasing tone in her own voice. As BJ went to see what the guys were up to, Janie's brother Jim made his way to the Monopoly game from the snack table to take her place.

"Hey Dad." BJ went over and lightly leaned on Hawkeye's shoulder. She knew just what to do here. She looked at her dad's cards with wide eyes, even though there was only a pair of twos, and in an astonished voice uttered, "Whoa."

Everyone sighed and laid their cards down. The two with the dark black hair and piercing blue eyes started laughing hysterically. "Wait a minute!" Klinger was the first to catch on. "I know what just happened."

"Very good Klinger." Hawkeye laughed as he reached in to bring his winnings back to his spot. They were only playing for little pieces of hard candy, but the tension was still high, considering all of the huge male egos at the table.

"Okay _Beatrice_, sit your little hinny down and deal." Colonel Potter chuckled, handing her the cards.

"Okay, one-eyed jacks are wild." BJ sat down and expertly started dealing the cards.

"Oh good heavens, she's like a little miniature Pierce." Winchester drawled.

"Well, she is a miniature Pierce." Hawkeye laughed as he put an arm around his daughter's shoulders and brought her in for a little one armed hug. He beamed proudly at his closest friends who were all sitting around the table.

About an hour later, the 'miniature Pierce' had the most pieces of the butterscotch candy in front of her and she was ready to call it quits. "Sorry guys, but I feel like I'm leaving you bunch in the dust." Everyone laughed good naturedly as she picked up all of her candy and went over to where the women were sitting around the fireplace. "I brought goodies!" She smiled as she handed each of the ladies a couple pieces of the butterscotch candies.

"Thanks." They all replied.

Margaret smiled at her daughter and opened her arms so she would go sit with her by the couch. BJ took her familiar spot, curled up with her moms arm around her, knowing that it would be one of the last times she would get to do that. "So, what did you do that was so funny over there?" Her mom asked.

"I tricked everyone into thinking dad's cards were good so they all folded. Dad goofed it up though when he started laughing." They all chuckled. BJ rolled her eyes in mock annoyance at her father, knowing that she was laughing too.

"I'm so proud that my daughter can bluff with the best." Margaret told the ladies sarcastically with a smile.

"So how's school going Beej?" Peg asked.

"Pretty good, I'm still not very good at the math classes though." She rolled her eyes again. Sure, she was getting a B, but to her that wasn't all that great. Hawkeye and Margaret thought it was wonderful, but BJ just liked the A's that she got in all of her other classes a lot better. She said she liked the 'pointy letters', not the 'round ones'.

"Algebra 2 right?" Soon Lee asked. After BJ nodded, she smiled knowingly, "Kimmie's in that. Max and I feel bad that we can't help her."

"So do Ben and I." Margaret smiled in amusement and looked down at her daughter. "Didn't Grandpa try to help you too?"

BJ laughed at the memory. "Oh yeah…that didn't work out to well."

"Erin's in calculus now. I swear, I've never had to use any of that stuff in my life! Ever!" Peg laughed. All of the others murmured their agreements.

"Now _that's_ a class I'm not looking forward too." BJ visibly shuddered.

"What's your favorite class BJ?" Patty asked.

"Does lunch count?" The girl replied. Laughing, she added, "I'm just kidding. I guess I'd have to say English 10."

"Oh, that's right. You want to be an author don't you?" Mildred recalled.

"I'd love to be, I just don't think it's gonna happen." BJ replied. She really did want to be an author, but no matter how many times she started another story in one of her notebooks, she never really got past writing _Chapter 1 _and a few paragraphs. After that, her interest would seem to fade a little and she'd tare out the page, throw it away and try to start another 'Future Best Seller'.

"Oh, I'm sure it will." Margaret reassured her daughter, rubbing her arm a little.

"Hope you're right." The raven haired girl sighed.

BJ and the rest of the ladies talked for awhile. Soon, it was almost eleven o'clock and Daniel went over to put some music on the record player that was built into the TV console. When the music started playing, someone would have thought it was a high school gym where a dance had just started. There were the men on one side and the women on the other.

Slowly, the men started over towards where the ladies had been sitting and talking. "May I have this dance." Hawkeye asked his wife, eyes sparkling.

"Well, I don't know." Margaret teased from where she sat on the couch. "My husband should be around here somewhere. If he saw me dancing with you, he might get jealous." Her eyes sparkled like Hawkeye's always did when he was teasing someone.

Hawkeye bent down to kiss Margaret on the lips, almost upside down.

"Hmmm…" Margaret still had that joking smile on her face. "I guess you'll just have to do." The two chuckled as Hawkeye went around the couch to help his wife up.

"I'm glad I meet the minimum standard requirements." He gave her his famous grin.

"You certainly do." Margaret knew what he was referring to.

The two moved out to where the teens had picked up their stuff and had set up a little dance floor. Margaret got as close as she could to her husband and laid her head on his chest as a slow song came on.

"Hey Beej?" Benji nervously rocked back and forth on his feet as he stood in front of the couch that she was sitting at.

"Yes, I'll dance with you." BJ laughed, knowing what he would ask, as she got up and took the boy's hand.

"Good." Benji let out a small sigh of relief as he lead BJ out to the little dancing area. Janie and Charlie followed, as did Johnny and Honoria. The rest of the girls jokingly danced with each other and sort of rotated through the three boys and Jim of course. BJ couldn't help but feel a little jealous when she saw Benji with another girl, even if they _were_ her very good friends. Also, the girls that danced with Jim had a lot of fun too, considering he was quite the looker.

After BJ and Janie were dancing together to a fast song, Daniel came over as a song with a medium tempo started playing. "I know it's not the 'coolest' thing to do," he put air quotes around coolest, "but would you like to dance with your grandpa?" BJ laughed and nodded as she started dancing with the older man.

Sometimes she really wished that she knew 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan better. She couldn't help but to feel extremely guilty about her other grandfather's obvious disappointment and disownment of her mother. BJ tried telling herself that it wasn't _her _fault that she was born out of wedlock, but she _had_ been the reason that 'Howitzer' wanted nothing to do with his own daughter. She had only spent less than a year getting to know Daniel, but already she felt much closer than she ever had or ever would be with that Al she tried not to think about.

About ten minutes later, the same song that had played all those years ago in Korea, then again not too long ago at the fundraiser dance, started playing on the record that Winchester had just put on since the other one had run out of songs. "Something tells me we won't be doing much of the Lindy tonight." Hawkeye chuckled as he bent down and kissed Margaret's neck.

"It might not be good on any of us." Margaret laughed back, patting her stomach.

BJ and Benji, on the other hand, were doing a great version of the Lindy that Hawkeye had taught his daughter and Peg had taught her sons how to do. Everyone had stopped and formed a circle around the two as they danced, much like the crowd had with Hawkeye and Margaret at the hospital's dance.

When the song was over, Radar hurried over to the record player and turned it off. "Hey everyone! It's 11:59!" Everyone looked down at their watches and over at the clock. After about 30 seconds, they started the count down.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" They all screamed in excitement.

The married couples all followed the tradition and kissed each other right after 'calling in the new year'. BJ and Benji just sort of looked at each other for a moment before slowly leaning in for a kiss. A kiss that neither of them would ever forget. Sure, for each of them it was their _second_ kiss, but the fireworks that they both felt made it seem more like their _first_. Both of them had their first kiss (which was also with each other) down on the beach at the reception, but it wasn't like this. This one lasted about 20 seconds and when they pulled away, they kind of laughed and looked away from each other shyly.

The little party lasted for another half an hour before everyone went to bed. They each wished everyone a happy 1968 on their way up to their rooms.

**January 1, 1968 - 1:45 a.m.**

"That was some kiss BJ." Erin told her friend as she took her party dress off and changed into her pajamas.

"Yeah…sure was." BJ was still sort of in a daze about it. She couldn't believe the magic that had seemed to have happened.

Honoria was brushed her hair before dropping her brush into her already packed suitcase. "I hope your dad didn't see that." She teased her friend.

"I don't think he did. I think he was too busy having is own kiss with mom." BJ laughed.

"Hey Beej, you're all ready for bed, want give me a hand over here?" Janie called her best friend over.

"Sure." She first clapped a couple of times to be funny and when that didn't work, she went over and sat on her friends over-packed suitcase so Janie could clip it closed.

All of the girls got ready for bed and finished packing their suitcases since they were all going home the next day. The Hunnicutts, Potters, O'Reilys, and Klingers were flying out of the Portland airport; the Winchesters were giving Janie and Jim a ride back to Boston and Father Mulcahy was driving back home to Philadelphia as well.

**Noon-ish**

After saying their tear-filled goodbyes, the Potters, O'Reilys and the Klingers had left for the airport and the Hunnicutts were soon to leave as well. "Bye Benji." BJ hugged the boy in front of her like she had that summer, but with more tears. She really didn't want to see him go.

"Goodbye BJ." Benji also had a few unshed tears in his eyes but tried to blink them away. He wiped the girl's tears away with his thumb. "I'll call you on Sunday, okay?"

"You better." BJ laughed, trying to clear away her emotions. She had already said goodbye to Erin and Charlie.

"See ya." Benji picked up his suitcase from where it was on the front porch. There seemed to be a line where the snow stopped on the porch and they were all standing where the wood was showing. Benji went to join his brother and sister in the car where they were waiting for their parents to come.

"Well Beej, I guess this is goodbye until next year." Hawkeye gave his best friend a quick embrace. Charles and Father Mulcahy had already said their goodbyes to their former colleague and his wife so Winchester, Francis, Honoria, Daniel, Jim, and Janie all waited in the house.

"I'll call." BJ Hunnicutt smiled at his friends.

"You take care Margaret. And get some rest." Peg laughed as she hugged her hostess.

"I'll try." Margaret smiled back.

Hawkeye put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "We wanted to ask you two something."

"What's that?" BJ asked his friend.

"Well," Margaret started, "we were wondering if our two closest friends would want to be the babies godparents?" She smiled at the two.

BJ and Peg's smiles grew a mile wide. "We'd love to be." Peg replied.

"We'd be honored." BJ added.

"Good." Hawkeye playfully slapped his buddy on the shoulder.

"Oh my gosh, you'd better go before you miss your flight." Margaret looked at her watch. It was almost 12:30 and their flight to San Francisco left at two. It was a good idea to show up at the Portland airport a couple hours ahead of time though.

BJ looked down at his watch. "Oh jeez, you're right. We hate to just run like this, but…"

"We totally understand." Hawkeye laughed as he gave his friend another quick hug.

"Goodbye you guys!" Peg waved back as they walked towards the car.

"Enjoy your last couple of months of being an only child BJ!" Hunnicutt called to his 'nick-name sake'.

"Will do!" The girl called back.

After the red rental car disappeared down the hill, the three went back into the house to say goodbye to their last guests. Within the hour, the house was back down to just the four Pierces and the house seemed strangely empty. Hawkeye persuaded Margaret to rest on the couch while he, Daniel and BJ tidied up the house for the rest of the day. It was a pretty long job, but they had made a contest out of it to see who could get the most rooms cleaned. Hawkeye ended up winning since he jokingly hid the vacuum from BJ who was only a room behind. Who said cleaning couldn't be fun?!

**Well, that was the big holiday get-together and I hoped you had fun at the New Years Eve party! There will be more, so don't worry yet! (Keep in mind, I LOVE reviews!-hehe) Tell me what you thought!**


	17. Dover, NH and BJ and Daniel's Surprise

**Chapter 17**

**January 20, 1968 Sunday**

"Okay you two, have fun." Daniel bent down to look inside his son's red 1964 Firebird that Hawkeye and Margaret were in. He and BJ had just loaded the car for them not too long ago and it was now time for the couple to leave for that well deserved vacation in New Hampshire.

"We will Dad." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Bye Mom." BJ leaned through the open window and gave Margaret a hug. She then ran over to the drivers side and did the same for Hawkeye. "See ya Dad."

"Bye kiddo. Be good." He smiled back at his daughter.

Daniel again bent down to look at Margaret. "You get plenty of rest. Who knows when the little ones will decide to come."

"I'll try Daniel." She laughed.

"I'll make sure she does." Hawkeye added as he started the car. After a few more goodbyes, he pulled out of the driveway, they both waved, and then they were off down the hill and on their way to the small bed and breakfast in Dover.

Daniel looked over at his granddaughter who had just pulled her coat a little tighter around her shoulders. "Cold?"

"Little bit." She replied.

"Well, why don't we go in and warm up a bit before we go do our shopping?" Daniel put an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the house.

"Can I call Janie?" BJ asked, hanging her coat up on the rack.

"Sure, but I thought if we left in about half an hour we could grab a bite to eat at the diner."

"It won't take that long." BJ shook her head, her long black hair dancing around her shoulders.

"Okay, tell her I said hi." He laughed as he made his way to his den.

"Will do." She went into the kitchen, picked up the phone that was on the counter, dialed the number on the rotary dial and waited. "Janie!"

"Oh, hey Beej!" The girl on the other end replied.

"Hey!" After awhile of talking about pretty random stuff, BJ asked "So, what's new in Bean Town?"

"Not much really. Beacon Hill placed second in the New England Basketball Championships." Janie told her friend excitedly.

"Really?! That's great!" Even though she wasn't a Beacon Hill Warrior anymore, BJ still felt sort of attached to her old school since she had gone there since kindergarten. She loved the Crabapple Cove High School just as much, if not more, but there would always be that connection with her.

"Yeah, I know! What's new in the cove?" Janie asked.

"Well, Dad saw me and Benji on New Years Eve." BJ replied, with a tiny hint of anger in her voice.

"Oh no. What did he do?"

"Well, Mom calmed him down a little, but he had been bottling up what he had seen until that Sunday when I talked to Benji after Dad talked to BJ. After I hung up, he kind of blew up. I hadn't ever seen him that mad. I guess I did deserve it though."

"What did he say?" Janie asked, concern in her voice.

"He just said that if he ever saw or heard about me doing something like that again until after I was married he'd lock me in my room and slip me my food under the door until I'm 30." BJ laughed. "Something tells me he wasn't being serious though."

Janie laughed at what her friend had said her punishment would be.

"I know right?" The two laughed a little. "But really, he wasn't all _that_ bad about it. I was impressed."

"I thought you said he blew up?" The girl on the other end was sort of confused.

"Well, in his own little way he blew up, but I think it was just that he needed to get what he knew off his chest."

"What did your mom say about the whole thing?"

"Oh, she was okay with it. She wasn't that _happy_ about it by all means but…"

"I think understand." Janie understood completely. "So, is this the week that your parents are going to New Hampshire?"

"Yeah, in fact they just left about 20 minutes ago." BJ looked down at her watch, realizing what time it was. "Listen, Janie, I got to go. Grandpa and I are gonna go eat at the diner and then go shopping for all the stuff we'll need for our surprise for Mom and Dad. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay, have fun. Have an extra order of fries for me, will ya?"

"I will." BJ laughed. "Bye Janie." She hung up the phone just as Daniel walked into the kitchen.

"I was just going to see if you were about ready." The older man smiled and handed his granddaughter her coat.

"Yep, I'm ready." BJ slipped her coat on (that was actually her mom's old field jacket from Korea-complete with major's clusters) and followed her grandfather out the door and into the car.

"So, what color are we painting the nursery anyway? I mean if they're all boys, there can't be half of the room that's pink and if they're all girls then we can't have half of the room be blue and if it's one girl and three boys then one boy would have to have his crib on the pink side and if it were one boy and three girls, then one girl would have to have her crib on the blue side." BJ and Daniel were sitting at a booth in the small diner. (The same diner that BJ had finally met her father in, not all that long ago) The girl with the piercing blue eyes looked over at her grandfather, who was now rather slack jawed and amazed at his granddaughters fast talking, and questioned him on their plan.

"Well, I was thinking we could paint it a 'neutral' color like a soft yellow or green or something." Daniel replied after his amazement died down a little. "We could make it so it matches the blankets you made for them." Daniel's surprise for his son and daughter-in-law was to completely redecorate the spare bedroom across from Hawkeye and Margaret's room to be a nursery for his new grandbabies.

"Hey, that could work." BJ nodded and dug back into her fries. Daniel kind of chuckled as he watched her. "What's so funny Grandpa?" She asked.

"You're just like your father. Ever since he came home from Korea, he's always sniffed his food before he took a bite. _Every_ time he takes a bite." He laughed.

"I don't know why I do it. I have ever since I can remember." She thought for a moment. "You know, a long time ago when I did that when mom and I were eating pretty late, she said something along the lines of, 'It's amazing, you've never even met your father, yet you have his annoying little habits'" The two chuckled since BJ's impression of her mother was very good.

"That is a little strange though, really." Daniel agreed with what his daughter-in-law said, even if it _was_ through BJ that he heard it.

After awhile of eating, Daniel looked back up at BJ. He saw that she was looking a little spacey. "You okay over there? Earth to Bea." Sometimes, that's what he called BJ since that's what he always called his wife.

"Oh, sorry." BJ shook her head as if she was trying to shake the cobwebs loose. "I was just looking over at the stadium."

"Pretty big for this tiny little town, isn't it?"

"Very. But that's not what I was thinking about." After she saw that Daniel had a questioning look on his face, she went on. "Well, if I hadn't gone to the wrestling championships that day, I never would have been left there…never would have come across the street…never would have asked the 'dark-haired' stranger for a dime…never would have had that stranger, who I then found out was named Hawkeye, invite Janie and I into the diner to use that phone…never would have talked to him for hours…and last but not least, I probably never would have found out that he was my father!" She started laughing, realizing how strange it all was.

"Well, I'd say that was just fate. That or a very good coincidence." Daniel chuckled as he picked up his last fry.

"Whatever it was, I'm sure glad it happened." BJ sort of cocked her head, as if it would help her recall something. "Did I tell you that Honoria had a little help with that?"

"No, I don't think you did." He shook his head as he took a drink of his iced tea.

"Well, she said that she pretty much left Janie and I here because she _knew_ that Dad was actually my dad, and she _knew_ that he lived here, and she _thought_ it was a pretty good chance that I'd see him if I was stuck here." BJ shook her head in amazement as she took her last drink of the Grape Nehi and pulled on her coat.

"Pretty remarkable. She actually left you here to be _nice_. That's kind of funny in a twisted sort of way." Daniel also pulled his coat on and got up.

"It is." BJ followed her grandfather up to the cash register where he paid for the lunch and tipped the girl behind the counter since she had also been the waitress.

"Here you go Dr. Pierce." The girl gave him his change back, smiling widely. "You know, I haven't seen Margaret in awhile. Will you tell her I said congratulations for me?"

"Sure Suzy." Daniel smiled.

"Thanks. Congrats to you two as well. You guys must be excited."

"Very. I've always wanted a little brother or sister." BJ shrugged.

"Well, now you get what you've always wanted and then some." Suzy laughed.

"Exactly." BJ nodded.

"Well, we'll see you later Suzy. You take care." Daniel waved on his way out.

"You too!" The girl called as she also waved.

As BJ and Daniel climbed into the car, BJ shook her head. "I can't believe it." She said more to herself than out loud.

"What's that?"

"Everyone is so nice here and they actually talk to you. Back in Boston, no one was very friendly and you didn't know _anyone_. I've only lived here for less than a year and I already know everyone."

Daniel shook his head in agreement. He had noticed that people just weren't as friendly when you got into a big town anymore.

BJ looked over to her grandfather. "I love this place."

"I do too." The older man nodded as he started the car and went a little ways down the street. A moment later, the two, again, stepped out into the cold January air, and walked into the small furniture store.

"Hi Daniel." An older man with white hair greeted the man. "Oh, I'm sorry. Hi BJ." He smiled at the girl that had come in after her grandfather.

"Not a problem Steve." BJ laughed good-naturedly. "The invisibility gene just came back for a moment is all." That's what she said whenever someone didn't noticed her. She had picked up the saying from Janie's older brother.

"Well, what can I do for you two today?" Steve asked.

Daniel smiled. "We need to check out the stuff for nurseries."

"I heard about that." A smile spread across the store owner's face. "I also heard that I'd probably be selling _four_ cribs instead of just one."

"That would be correct." Daniel laughed.

"Right this way." Steve lead his costumers to the back of the store. "If you need anything or have any questions, just let me know." He went to his desk to fill out some paperwork and make phone calls.

"Well, let's see. What all do we need Beej?" Daniel started looking around.

BJ followed him. "Four cribs." She joked.

"Thank you Miss Obvious." The two laughed. "Well, I guess they'll need a changing table." He stopped in front of a very nice, white changing table. The fabric on the top was the same shade of green as what was on the blankets that BJ had made. They even made sure with a little piece of the yarn that was in her pocket. Luckily, she had a piece of the yellow yarn in her pocket as well. "I would say just one changing table, wouldn't you?"

"You can only change one diaper at a time right?" BJ asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

"This is true." The older man nodded. He look at the matching crib that stood beside the changing table. "What about that one?"

BJ nodded. "Those are good. They're not too girly, and not too boyish." She flipped over the tag to look at the price. "Whoa." Her eyes got big.

"Don't worry about that." He playfully swatted the tag away from BJ's hand. "I've only gotten to do this 'new grandbaby shopping' once and I intend to get the best for my new grandkids."

"You're really going to be spoiling them won't you?" BJ asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes, yes I am. And I intend to keep my job of spoiling you too." He laughed as he put an arm around her shoulders. The two made their way to the desk in the middle of the big showroom.

"Find everything alright?" Steve asked, putting his pen down.

"Yep." He told him what he was buying. "I was wondering though, do you have four of the cribs in stock? I'd really like to get the room done by Saturday night."

Steve checked his ledger where he had all of the inventory marked out. "Well, we have three in stock and then the floor model. You probably don't want that one though." When Daniel shook his head, he continued. "I can have another one here by Saturday afternoon."

"That will work." Daniel nodded. After he paid for his purchases, the two costumers were on their way back out to their car. Steve's sons were going to drop the cribs and the changing table off, still in their boxes and everything, in awhile.

"Hey Grandpa! Look!" They had parked a little down the street and something in the shop next door to the furniture store, caught BJ's eye.

"What is it?" Daniel asked, going back to his granddaughter who had stopped a little ways behind him.

"It's Johnny Cash's new record. The one he made at Folsom Prison, it just came out the on the thirteenth." BJ was excited.

"Didn't you just get a new Johnny Cash record for Christmas?" He asked.

"Well, yeah, new to me, but that one had been out for awhile." She opened the door, "Come on."

"Coming." Daniel followed.

BJ went over to the shelf and picked up one of the copies, looking on the back to see what songs were on it. "Hey, these are good ones. There's even a couple duets with June Carter on this one. 'Jackson' and 'Give My Love to Rose'." Looking back up at her grandpa, she asked, "Can I get it, I brought my money." She had gotten about 20 dollars from her grandma Houlihan.

"Save your money. I'll buy it for you." Daniel smiled as he took the record from his granddaughter and went over to the cash register.

"Are you sure?" BJ went over to him.

"Of course I'm sure Bea." He chuckled, "I said I'd keep spoiling you awhile ago didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you did." She nodded.

After the two got back outside, BJ reached over and gave her grandfather a big hug. "Thanks Grandpa."

"You're welcome."

The two climbed into Daniel's turquoise and white '57 Chevy and headed to the hardware store to get the paint. They got pastel green, soft yellow, and white. All of the paint matched the colors in the yarn of the baby blankets. The nursery would turn out very nice, and Hawkeye and Margaret would love it.

**Dover, New Hampshire**

After Hawkeye and Margaret got to the bed and breakfast in Dover at about two o'clock, they checked in and settled into their room. "Oh Hawkeye, this place is wonderful." Margaret looked out of the window that was across the room from the bed. Hawkeye walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her expanded waist. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Now I know where you get your sweetness from."

"Aw shucks." Hawkeye did his over exaggerated shrug of modesty. Gently turning his wife around, he looked into her eyes. "You know, after a long drive like that, I'd really appreciate it if you rested for awhile."

"Hawkeye, you worry too much." She patted his cheek as she put her arms around his waist. "I'm fine."

"I know, but would you?" He asked, puppy dog eyes in affect.

"Those eyes don't work for BJ anymore on me and yours won't either." She joked around with her husband, although really, she was feeling a little weak from those eyes.

"Please." Hawkeye gently touched Margaret's face with the back of his fingers and then bent down to kiss where they just were.

"Oh, I guess it wouldn't hurt." She grabbed his hand and kissed it. "But only if you'll stay here with me."

"Well, I wasn't just going to leave you!" Hawkeye laughed. "Come on." He took his wife's hand and guided her over to the bed. "We've been so busy lately, we haven't _really_ just been able to talk, so here we can and we have the whole week to do it."

"That sounds nice." Margaret agreed as she laid down next to Hawkeye.

Hawkeye laughed. "It's probably one of the last time that we'll see each other wide awake too."

"More than likely." Margaret nodded as she cuddled up next to him. "I'm so glad I'll have help this time."

"I'm glad I get to be there this time." Hawkeye rubbed Margaret's back up and down while they talked and soon enough, she fell asleep. He felt his own eye lids drooping, decided not to fight them, and took a nap himself.

**Back in the Cove**

The doorbell rang at about four o'clock at the Pierce home. Daniel went to answer the door from where he and BJ were, up in the soon-to-be-nursery. "Well hi there." The older man shook the two boys' hands that were standing at the door. Their truck was in the driveway.

"Hello Dr. Pierce." The taller boy replied. "Dad said you needed some furniture moved before we brought your order up."

"That's right, it's up here." Daniel lead the two boys up to the guest room across from Hawkeye and Margaret's room.

Within an hour, the two high school boys, that BJ knew from school, had the room emptied. There was only a bed and a dresser in the room so it wasn't too difficult to empty. They put the extra stuff in one of the other guest rooms. The two boys, Randy and Dave, also brought up the three cribs and the changing table. "Would you like us to put these together?" Randy, the shorter of the two, asked.

"No, we can manage. Thanks though." Daniel tipped the two and they were on their way. After the two boys left, he looked over at his granddaughter. "Ready to get started?"

"Sure, I'll run down and get the drop clothes, and the rollers." BJ headed out of the room, already changed into old clothes.

"I'll grab the treys and the tape too." They had already taken the paint up to the room.

After the white carpet was covered with about ten drop clothes (just to be safe) the two started painting over the beige walls with the white paint, while listening to BJ's new record. On the duets, BJ sang June's parts and Daniel sang Johnny's parts. They were having a lot of fun. When the white paint dried, the two had a heck of a time trying to measure out the walls and decide how wide to make the stripes of color. That took about three hours just to figure that out, and then to put the tape up for the nice lines took even longer. When it was all taped out, they decided that they'd have a little supper break.

**New Hampshire**

Hawkeye woke up at about 7:30 at night, his stomach growling from hunger. He leaned over, moved some of Margaret's long blond hair and kissed her on the neck. She slightly stirred and, seeing that it was dark outside, sat up with a confused look on her face and looked at her watch.

"Hungry?" Hawkeye asked.

"Did we fall asleep?" She pretty much ignored his question for a moment.

"Evidently." He nodded, smiling as he asked again, "Are you hungry?"

Laughing, Margaret nodded. "What do we want to do for supper?"

"Well," Hawkeye stood up and put his shoes on. "we could drive around and see what's here."

"That sounds good." She shifted so her legs were off of the bed. "Hey Honey?" She looked up at her husband with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind uh…helping me with my shoes?" It was not an easy task for her with her very rounded stomach that had grown a lot, just in the past month.

Hawkeye chuckled. "You know I would love to do that for you Sweetheart."

"Thanks."

The two walked down the stairs, were greeted by the manager of the place, and headed out to their car. They drove around for awhile and found a nice restaurant by the Cochecho Falls.

**Crabapple Cove, Maine**

After stopping for a quick supper, Daniel and BJ went back up to the room they were working on and started painting the stripes. They would go green, white, yellow, white, green, etc. It would look really nice and would match the blankets perfectly. Painting the stripes were much easier than trying to figure out how they should go and how thick they should be.

When they were done painting the second coat, it was about eleven at night, and BJ had to go to school in the morning. "Well, Beej, I would say we could do the trim and everything else tomorrow after your done with school." Daniel put his roller in a bag to put in the fridge and put the lids back on the paint cans.

"Sounds good." The girl said between yawns. She also put her roller in a bag.

"Why don't you go get to bed. I'll take care of this stuff."

"Okay. Goodnight." She went over to give him a hug before leaving the room and heading up to hers.

**Three Days Later**

**Crabapple Cove**

"Well, this room looks like it will be pretty nice." BJ and Daniel stood back, admiring their handy work. They had just gotten all of the white trim and baseboards up. They would start putting furniture and accessories into the room tomorrow, but for now, it looked pretty good. They were then going to try to get the cribs and the changing table put together and set up. BJ took one of the cribs and Daniel took the other.

"So, tab B goes into slot A?" Daniel asked from where he was trying to get the pieces to fit together.

"No," BJ laughed. "Tab B goes into slot B."

"That makes sense. They should just have this stuff color coordinated." He shook his head in mild exasperation.

"You have to be smarter than the wood." She teased her grandfather.

**Dover**

It was about ten o'clock and Hawkeye and Margaret were snuggled up in bed after a fun day of shopping and sightseeing. Hawkeye made sure they did a lot of sitting to rest between sights, since he was worried that Margaret would get too overworked, and that wasn't good for her _or_ the babies.

Now, Margaret was laying in her husband's arms where she loved to be. They had been talking about little things since they had gotten into bed, but there was something that Hawkeye really wanted to know.

"Hey Margaret?" He started.

"Yeah?" She looked up to see into his bright blue eyes.

"What happened between you and your father?" He asked, a mixture of concern and guilt in his eyes.

"Well, like I told you, the first day I got back from Korea, I went to the doctor to see if my thoughts were right. When they confirmed that I was pregnant, I didn't tell Dad. I told my mom, and she was very supportive and even moved in for awhile to help after BJ was born." She laid her head on the pillow, a sort of sad look covering her normally happy face. "But, when I was about seven months pregnant, about a week after the paperwork had gotten through for my discharge out of the Army, I decided I would go see my dad since he was stationed at Fort Bragg North Carolina and it was closer than where he was going to be stationed next. I figured that he should know he was going to be a grandfather." Hawkeye rubbed his wife's back as he listened intently to the story. "I'll never forget the look on his face when I got out of the car. He wouldn't even look at me after he saw that I was pregnant. He was furious." Margaret's shoulders shook as she started to cry.

Hawkeye hugged her tighter, trying to comfort her. "Margaret, I'm so sorry."

"He asked me if I had gotten married again without him knowing it, and when I said no, he said 'Get out. I don't want to see you again.'" She cried a little harder. "It was hard…my mom was furious with him, but nothing she or I said would change his mind."

"It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I feel so horrible that I put you through that." Hawkeye's eyes were blurred with tears, thinking about what the love of his life must have gone through.

"I'm pretty sure I was there at the time that it happened, Hawkeye. It's not all _your_ fault." She smiled. Knowing what she was referring to, he smiled back. "I just want you to know that I don't blame any of it on you. In fact I'm grateful to you. Because of you, I…we have a beautiful daughter who's been the greatest gift there is."

Hawkeye smiled and then asked, "Do you suppose that old 'Howitzer' is even going to acknowledge the fact that he has four more grandkids on the way?"

"I couldn't care less about him. I mean, sure he's my dad, but I'm glad BJ was never around him much. He wasn't all that great of a person." She shrugged sadly. "I think that Daniel will be such a great grandfather to these guys. He already is with BJ and he more than makes up for the lack of another grandfather."

Hawkeye kissed away Margaret's tears and reached over to place a gentle hand on her 'baby bump'. Margaret put her hand over his and they stared into each others eyes for awhile before they fell asleep.

**Saturday Night**

"We actually got it all done in one week!" BJ exclaimed excitedly. They had just finished putting the final crib together (the one that Steve had to order) and the room was now finished. There was a crib in each corner, a changing table between the two floor length windows (that had transparent white curtains on them), the white dresser that was originally in the guest room by Daniel's room was in between the two cribs on the right, and in between the two cribs on the left was a big rocking chair. The middle of the room had a big, soft, colorful rug. Daniel and BJ had run to the store to get little decorations for the room as well and there were now little pastel animal figurines everywhere along with cute paintings of different things like caterpillars, birds, flowers, and some other animals.

**The Next Day**

It was about noon and BJ was up in her room, starting to type a little story on her new typewriter when Daniel called up the stairs. "Hey BJ, you're parents are home!"

"Be down in a minute!" BJ thought that what she was writing was pretty good so, instead of throwing the piece of paper away, she tucked it into one of her folders and put it in the top drawer of her desk. After looking in the mirror to see if she was 'presentable' she raced down the one flight of stairs, slid down the banister of the other and raced out the door.

"Hey, there you are!" Hawkeye hugged his daughter when she ran over to him and Margaret.

"Hi Beej. Were you good for your grandfather?" Margaret sarcastically asked as she gave her daughter a hug. She knew that her daughter was a pretty good kid.

"She was very well behaved." Daniel threw in, teasing BJ.

After all of the luggage was brought in and the shopping bags that were filled with clothes and diapers for the babies were shown off to the two that hadn't been on the trip. Daniel asked, "Would you two like to see that little surprise that I mentioned earlier?"

Laughing, Hawkeye and Margaret replied, "There really was one?"

"Well of course, come on." Daniel and his granddaughter lead Hawkeye and Margaret up to the nursery door.

"Okay Mom, Dad…close your eyes." When they both did, the BJ guided her parents into the room. "Okay, you can open them."

"Oh my gosh." Margaret gasped. "This is incredible." Her smile was a mile wide and her voice was at least an octave higher than normal.

Hawkeye was also smiling, imagining seeing his sons and/or daughters in the cribs or playing on the big rug. "This is amazing."

"Glad you like it. We worked pretty hard on it, didn't we Beej?"

"We sure did Grandpa." BJ nodded.

"You guys did this?" Margaret asked, a little shocked.

"Yep." The two nodded proudly.

"Thank you so much." The mother-to-be gave her father-in-law and her daughter big hugs with a few tears of joy in her eyes.

"Thanks you two." Hawkeye also gave his dad and daughter hugs. "This was pretty damn nice of you."

"It was a lot of fun." BJ threw in. They all looked around the room. The blankets that BJ (and Janie) made were draped over each crib and the nursery looked ready to be used.

**Okay, well there's the surprise! It won't be long now until Margaret has the babies. Sorry if the whole 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan thing seemed a little random, but I thought that just needed to be in there and it might come more into play later. Tell me what you think! I love reviews! (Hit the blue button…NOW!) hehe.**


	18. Going as Two, Coming Back as Six

_Author's Note: Sorry, but the 1964 Firebird that was mentioned in the last chapter was supposed to be a_ _1967 __Firebird. Thank you to Pony R. for pointing that out. It was actually just an editing error on my part. Oh, and this is kind of just a filler chapter too, just so you know! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 18**

**Sunday, February 27, 1968**

"I guess I don't understand." BJ was carrying her mom's last suitcase to the car.

"What don't you understand Sweetheart?" Margaret asked. She was about eight months pregnant and was very big. She had been on bed rest since she and Hawkeye got back from New Hampshire and was sick of being in bed all the time. But, she knew that it was for her and the babies health, so it didn't bother her all _that_ much.

"Well, in all of the biology and anatomy classes I've taken, they always say that it takes _nine_ months for the baby, or in this case babies, to be fully developed. Not _eight_ months."

"It usually does, but with multiples they always seem to come early." Margaret opened the trunk to her and Hawkeye's new Ford Fairline station wagon. They had traded Margaret's old '53 Kaiser so they would have more room for their very fast growing family. The station wagon was nice, but it wasn't as 'cool', as BJ put it, as her mom's old car. They _were_ going to trade in the Firebird, but Hawkeye had other plans for that later and couldn't bring himself to sell, what he used to call, his 'Pride and Joy'. But that was before he met his daughter. Then she took that spot in a landslide.

"Yeah, I guess." BJ put the last suitcase in the back and looked at her mom.

"Well, I guess this is the last time I'll see you as an only child." Margaret smiled a little. "And the last time you'll be my little baby."

"Aw mom." The girl blushed a little, but didn't mind the fact that she had been called her mom's 'little baby' for so long. She was extremely close to her mother and knew that with four little brothers and/or sisters on the way, their 'closeness' would probably be a little strained.

Margaret opened her arms and BJ went to give her a hug. It was becoming an interesting task however in the last few months.

"Are we all ready?" Hawkeye and Daniel came out of the house carrying a couple more suitcases.

"I think so." Margaret nodded. Hawkeye put the suitcases in the back with the others.

"So, we'll call you as soon as something happens and you'll be down next weekend right?" Hawkeye asked his father.

"Yep, as soon as the final bell rings on Friday we'll start heading to Bean Town." Daniel nodded, chuckling. "We'll be there."

"We'll see you then." Margaret gave her father in law a hug.

"Going as two, coming back as six." Daniel laughed as he hugged both his daughter in law and son before they got in.

"See ya dad." BJ gave her dad a hug. They were standing on the driver's side while Margaret and Daniel were on the passenger side. "Be strong for Mom okay." She laughed a little. "And uh, don't forget the paper bag, you might need it."

"What makes you say that?" He teased around with his daughter.

"Mom told me about how she woke you up on Christmas morning and how you almost had a heart attack."

"Yeah, about that…" He tried talking his way out of it. BJ just shook her head and gave him a smile that he knew meant 'You know I'm going to make fun of you a lot for that from now on, right?' "See ya kiddo." He hugged his daughter again.

When Margaret got in, Daniel shut the door. Before his son got in, he mouthed the words 'Don't panic too much'. Hawkeye just gave him the okay sign and got in.

After the car was out of sight, Daniel looked over to BJ. "We have a couple people to call."

"Yeah." BJ's stomach immediately filled with butterflies, knowing what she would be doing in not too long. When the two went into the house, BJ went into the kitchen and picked up the phone while Daniel waited in the living room, knowing that his granddaughter would want some privacy.

BJ got the operator on the phone. "Yeah, I need to place a call to Fort Benning, Georgia please." She took a deep breath as she waited for the operator there.

"Fort Benning." The operator's high pitched voice almost made BJ want to stick the phone far away from her ear.

"Can you get me through to Colonel Alvin Houlihan please?" She twisted the phone cord in her fingers. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

"Hello?" A man answered on the other end.

"Hi, is this Alvin Houlihan?" BJ asked, her voice not as strong as usual.

"Yes it is, can I ask who this is?"

"This is Beatrice. Beatrice Jane Pierce. Uh…it used to be Houlihan." She took another deep breath. "It's your granddaughter."

"I see." The man on the other end seemed unfeeling. "What is it?" He said in sort of an impatient tone.

"Well sir, I just wanted to tell you that Mom and Dad are on their way to Boston. The hospital there is much more equipped to handle what your daughter's going there for."

"Why does Margaret have to go to the hospital?" There was a slight hint of concern in the colonel's voice.

"Because, she's about eight months pregnant with four of your grandchildren."

"Pardon me?" The man was a little shocked. He knew that Margaret had gotten married less than a year ago to the man he hated most when he went to the 4077th.

"Yes sir. Your daughter's having quadruplets." BJ was beginning to feel a _little _more relaxed, not _much_ but a little.

"Is that so. With that man?" His tone went back to what it had been when he found out he was talking to his granddaughter.

"Yes sir. Of course." She rolled her eyes in pure annoyance at the man. "Colonel, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"It would mean a lot…to my mom…if you would just acknowledge her and your new grandkids. Would you come to Crabapple Cove sometime so you can meet your new grandkids, and well…me?"

The other end was silent for a moment. When the man did finally speak, the words came slowly and seemed to be thought out. "I'm not sure, but I'll think about it."

"Thank you." BJ replied.

"What hospital is my daughter going to?"

"Boston Mercy." BJ replied.

"Well, I have some things I need to do. I should go."

"Right. Will I talk to you later?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to or not.

"Possibly." Was all the Colonel responded with before he hung up the phone.

BJ hung up as well and sighed. That hadn't gone the way she had wanted. She got up and went into the living room.

"How'd it go?" Daniel asked.

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch.

"That good huh?"

BJ nodded. Daniel got up to call someone else in the other room.

**Boston, Massachusetts  
****4:00 p.m.**

Hawkeye pulled up to the curb of the rather large house that belonged to the Winchesters. They were greeted by Charles, Honoria, and Janie.

"Hello." Charles waved as he came down the path from the front door.

"Hello Charles." Margaret smiled. "I can't tell you how grateful we are that your going to put up with us for a few weeks." She chuckled a little.

"Oh Margaret, he loves us." Hawkeye teased the man.

"Well," Charles went to help Hawkeye unpack the car, "you'll be much more comfortable here until it's time for the stork to drop by." He motioned down the road. "And besides, when it _is_ that time, the hospital is only two blocks away."

"Hello Margaret." Janie and Honoria came over to greet the woman.

"Hi you two." She replied. It seemed weird that they were there, but BJ wasn't. Those three seemed connected at the hip when they were together.

After all of the bags were brought in, the six people walked into the living room and started talking. "So what have you guys been up to?" Margaret asked the two girls that were sitting on the sofa across the room. They seemed unusually quiet.

Janie looked away for a moment. Honoria put her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Well, I got a roommate for awhile."

"What happened Janie, is Jim alright?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yeah, he's fine." Janie nodded sadly. "Too fine." The girl with the long red hair wiped away a tear that had started to roll down her cheek. "He's been drafted…sent to basic training…and in about three weeks, he'll be in Vietnam."

Margaret's heart sank. "Oh Janie, I'm sorry. BJ didn't tell me that."

"That's because I didn't tell her." She shook her head.

"Oh?" Hawkeye was confused. Normally his daughter and Janie always talked about everything.

"I didn't want her to worry about him or me when she's supposed to just be worrying about you." Janie looked at Margaret with a small smile.

"Wait a minute. How can Jim be drafted? He's the main supporter for his family. You." Margaret didn't understand.

"Exactly what I said." Janie nodded. "But, the Army, in it's infinite wisdom, got around that somehow."

"Well, Janie if you ever need anything. You know who you can talk to." Margaret gave the girl a reassuring smile.

"Thanks. Everyone's been extremely supportive." She looked at Charles. "Have I told you thanks yet?"

"About fifty times, yes." Charles nodded, laughing in amusement.

"Well, thanks again."

"Fifty one." He teased her.

"That sure is nice of you Charles." Hawkeye told his former colleague.

"I'm a nice kind of guy." He replied.

After awhile of talking, Charles looked at Margaret. "How have you been Margaret?"

"Oh, I'm great. I've been on bed rest for about a month." She turned to look up at her husband who's arms she was in on the couch. "It was part of our deal. If we were to go to New Hampshire, I had to take it easy for the rest of the time."

"I'm over protective. Sorry." Hawkeye shrugged, teasing his wife.

"So, I'm guessing you're also pretty nervous right?" Charles knew all about the first time father jitters. He was always worried about his wife and made her rest all the time when she was pregnant with Honoria.

"Very." Margaret answered for him, patting her husband on the knee.

"What she said." He nodded.

"I thought he was going to have a heart attack when I told him I was having contractions on Christmas morning." She chuckled, looking back at her husband.

"You were?" Charles asked, very surprised.

"No," She laughed, "I just told him that to wake him up…It worked." Everyone laughed and they all talked for awhile longer.

**Crabapple Cove  
****Thursday Night**

It was about ten o'clock and Daniel and BJ were watching TV. BJ was laying on the couch, half asleep. "Why don't you go to bed, Bea?"

"I don't know." BJ burrowed into a couple of the pillows.

"I'll come wake you up if I get any word from your parents." Daniel knew what was going on with his granddaughter.

"Promise?"

"Of course."

"Okay, goodnight." BJ went up to her room and was sound asleep right after her head hit the pillow.

Daniel was also pretty anxious, and he couldn't sleep. At about midnight, he went downstairs to warm up some milk. Maybe that would help him get to sleep. When he got to the doorway of the kitchen, he could see a silhouette of someone looking in the fridge. When he turned on the light, he saw that BJ was rubbing her head where she had just hit it on the inside of the fridge.

"Sorry." Daniel went over to the fridge. "Couldn't sleep either huh?"

"My stomach hurts. I just wanted to eat something to see if that would help." She shrugged.

"Sympathy pains?" Daniel teased her.

**Boston  
****3:00 a.m. Friday**

"You okay?" Hawkeye rolled over to put a hand on Margaret's arm. She was trying to find a comfortable position, but it wasn't working well.

"Yeah, I think so. Go back to sleep." She ran her fingers through his hair and tried to get comfortable again.

Awhile later, Margaret grabbed her pillow and cringed. The babies had been kicking like crazy, but she didn't think anything of it. When her body finally relaxed, she tried to sleep a little more, but she figured it wouldn't be much use. After about thirty minutes and three more pains she decided to get up for a while since she couldn't find a comfortable position on the bed. She went into the bathroom that was part of the 'guest suite' and leaned on the counter. As another pain came, she moaned it hurt so bad. "It's too early." She told herself.

"Margaret?" Hawkeye appeared at the doorway. "Are you alright?" His eyes were full of concern.

Margaret, still looking down at the sink, shook her head. "I don't know."

Hawkeye walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Do you think we should get you to the hospital?"

"I think so." Another contraction gripped her as she nodded.

Hawkeye pulled on his pants and a shirt and helped Margaret get downstairs. "Is it time?" Charles appeared at the top of the stairs in his bathrobe.

"Yeah." Hawkeye nodded. "Will you call my dad for me?"

"Of course." Charles started down the stairs. "Do you know how to get to the hospital, Pierce?"

"I do." Margaret told him. They started out to the car and Hawkeye grabbed his wife's hospital bag. Margaret gasped and grabbed her husband's arm.

"What?" He asked, even more concern coming into his eyes.

"My water just broke."

"You better hurry." Charles told the two.

"Yeah." Hawkeye helped Margaret to the car and ran to the driver's side, jumped in and sped off to the hospital. Within minutes, they were at the emergency entrance. A nurse brought a wheel chair to Margaret and they hurried up to the maternity ward.

**So, I imagine you know what will happen next, but there might be few surprises. Review! And I hope you liked the chapter. Like I said, it was a filler.**


	19. Labor Pains

_Sorry about the cliff hanger! I couldn't resist! But here you go since you all begged:_

**Chapter 19**

**Crabapple Cove**

The phone just rang at about a quarter to four in the morning. "Hello?" Daniel answered the phone, almost knowing what it would be since it was so early.

"Daniel, this is Charles. Hawkeye wanted me to call you to say that Margaret just went into labor and they're on their way to the hospital now."

"Now?!" Daniel knew it could happen, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. "Well, thank you Charles. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"I'll tell them that. I should go; I told Hawkeye and Margaret I'd help with the delivery."

"Tell them I said good luck." Daniel told the man goodbye and went up to his granddaughter's room. "Beej."

"Tell the principal I died and didn't leave a forwarding address." BJ mumbled as she dug in a little farthing into her blankets, her _World's Best Daughter_ bear in her arms.

"Come on Bea, Charles just called. Your mom and dad just went to the hospital."

"What?" She sat up.

"Your mom just went into labor." Daniel told her. "We might want to leave a little earlier so get dressed, pack a bag and we'll go as soon as we're ready. I'll call your school later."

"Right." BJ rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up some more.

**Boston**

"You better let me in there buster." Hawkeye was arguing with the man at the front desk at the maternity ward.

"I'm sorry sir, but the husbands aren't allowed in the delivery room." The man behind the desk tried to calm Hawkeye down.

"Look, I wasn't able to be with her in there almost fourteen years ago and I'll be damned if I can't be this time. You better let me in there."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"Look, I'm a doctor, and I've had the same amount, if not more, experience than whoever's supposedly in there now. If, God forbid, something were to happen, I could at least help. Now please, let me in there."

"Pierce, what are you doing out here?" Charles had just appeared at the waiting room door. He had hurried to get dressed after he called Daniel and was on his way to the delivery room. "You should be in there with Margaret."

"This jack ass won't let me through the doors." Hawkeye was mad, but he was trying not to show it too much.

"Larry, why didn't you let him in?!" It was Charles' turn to be mad now.

"Because sir, husbands aren't allowed in the delivery room." The man tried to explain. Winchester looked back at Hawkeye as he went across the room and was opening the door.

"Are you coming?" He asked. Hawkeye followed him down the hall and into the room where Margaret was. Hawkeye walked over to the bed and moved the hair that had fallen onto his wife's face behind her ears. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"How's it going?"

"Peachy." She replied sarcastically and cringed as yet another contraction came. "I couldn't be better."

"Sorry." Hawkeye squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"For what?" She asked, looking a little confused.

"Stupid question, and well, I kind of put you in this situation." He smiled at her. Margaret laughed a little.

"What took you so long?" She asked.

"Minor road block." He tried to just shrug it off. "So how far apart are the contractions now?" He asked, holding her hand. She squeezed it tight as the pain of the last one subsided a little.

"About…every…fifteen minutes…or so." She said between labored breathing.

"Shh. It's okay. Breathe honey. You're gonna be alright." He let her squeeze his hand as hard as she wanted to, although he had to admit, his hand was already getting sore. With his other hand he put a damp washcloth on her forehead.

"I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to do this four times!" She screamed a little.

"You can do it, your strong." He bent down and kissed her cheek.

"I hope so." She had a few tears in her eyes.

"Have they gotten you anything for the pain?" He asked, hating to see her in this much pain and knowing it was all his fault.

"No, I need to try without it." Her stubbornness took over yet again.

"Are you sure?"

Margaret nodded at her husband's question even though she wasn't entirely sure herself.

**Somewhere in the southern part of New Hampshire**

"Wow, we're almost to the New Hampshire-Massachusetts line and it only took us five hours." BJ looked at her watch. They had left at four o'clock since they got ready as they were running out the door. Before they left, BJ grabbed the four baby blankets that she (and Janie) had made. It was now almost eight o'clock.

"Well, everyone usually takes the highway. The interstate gets you to Boston much faster." Daniel was watching out for their exit. They were getting close to where they would be turning off. "I'm also making this car go as fast as I dare." He chuckled a little as he looked over at his granddaughter. "You alright?"

"Those butterflies I had in my stomach have turned to flying saucers."

He reached over and squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Do you suppose you have any little brothers or sisters yet?" His butterflies had also turned to flying saucers, but he didn't want to show it too bad.

"I don't know." She shrugged, playing with the button on her mom's old field jacket.

**Back in Boston**

**8:00 a.m.**

Margaret's contractions had slowed down a little a couple of hours earlier, but now they were pretty close together again. At about six o'clock, Charles had to take Hawkeye out of the room for a little talk that went something like this:

"Pierce, are you alright? I was afraid you were going to start hyperventilating in there." Charles put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I guess I just don't get it. Why did her contractions slow down like that?" Hawkeye started pacing nervously.

"You're a doctor, you know all of this stuff. Sometimes it just happens that way."

"But her water broke and everything." The pacing continued.

"Hawkeye relax." Winchester stopped him from pacing so he could talk to him. "We know that the babies are all fine and that Margaret's progressing like she's supposed to. That's why we're using the monitor." Winchester gave a small smile. "It's a good thing you guys came down here to Boston instead of staying up there in the Cove where they don't have that kind of technology."

"Thanks Charles. I think I'm a little less shaky now." Hawkeye shrugged a little after they talked for a few more minutes and tried to make a joke to cover up how he felt, but he couldn't think of one.

It was now two hours later and Margaret still didn't want the painkillers. She was just too stubborn and didn't want anyone to think she couldn't take the pain. When the contractions were coming about every four minutes, Charles looked to see where her progress was.

"Okay Margaret, on the next contraction you can push, alright?" Charles took his place while the two nurses made sure they had everything they needed, including the four incubators that would surely be needed.

Margaret nodded a little and tried to get herself prepared for the work ahead. She had also been pretty worried about the contractions slowing down, but she tried to stay strong, oddly enough, for Hawkeye who was a nervous wreck. Now he was pushing the hair that had fallen into her face aside again and reassuring her, whispering in her ear.

About a half an hour later the first babies head was out. "Okay Margaret, don't push for a second." Charles gently unwrapped the umbilical cord from around its neck. "Okay, go ahead. One more!"

"Agh!" Margaret screamed as she gave it her all into the 'first, final push'.

"You did it!" Charles gathered the baby up in his hands and showed it to the proud mother and father as it starting crying. "Okay Pierce, you were the chief surgeon, let's see if you remember this chapter in med school." He smiled from behind his mask.

"It's a girl!" Hawkeye exclaimed with a mixture of joy and pride.

"Oh my God." Margaret exclaimed as she tried to catch her breath and laid back on the pillows behind her as Hawkeye cut the cord. She was close to being worn out, but somehow she knew she could muster the energy for the other three. She and Hawkeye only got to hold their new daughter for a few minutes before it was time for the second baby to come. The girl weighed four pounds, five ounces and needed time in the incubator.

As he held his wife's hand and encouraged her, Hawkeye kept looking over at the incubator at his tiny daughter, his eyes blurring each time with a few 'manly' tears of joy.

**A half an hour later-in the waiting room**

"That was pretty good wasn't it?" Daniel asked his granddaughter as they sat down on the couch in the empty waiting room. "Bet you didn't know you could get from Crabapple Cove to Boston in five and a half hours instead of eight, did you?" He chuckled.

"I'm surprised you didn't get a ticket." BJ rolled her eyes in mock horror.

"The speed limit is only a suggestion." He pointed out. "Until your father teaches you to drive and you go through driver's ed. Then it's the real deal." He added quickly smiling his devilish smile that both Hawkeye and BJ had inherited.

"Sure it is." BJ laughed as she picked up an old magazine.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna see if that guy can tell us anything about your mother." Daniel set the magazine he was looking at down and walked over to the desk. "Excuse me sir, can you tell me anything about Margaret Pierce?"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything yet. Usually when there's multiples, we don't get the news 'till they're all born."

"Right." Daniel thought as much. "Thanks." He went back to sit with his granddaughter. Somehow, she had fallen asleep. She was awake during the whole trip there, but just barely and now she was sound asleep, regardless of her nerves.

"Daniel!" BJ and Benji Hunnicutt had just walked into the waiting room.

"BJ, I'm glad you could make it. When did you two fly in?" Daniel knew they were going to be there since he was the one that called them on Sunday. He stood up and shook his son's best friend's hand.

"We flew in yesterday. We just got a call from Honoria and Janie." He thought for a moment. "Did you hear about Jim?"

"No, what happened?" Daniel asked, worried.

"He's been drafted." BJ shook his head sadly. "I wish they would do away with that stupid system."

"That's terrible. How's Janie taking it?" The three walked over to the sitting area.

"I don't know, I just heard about it myself when Janie called. I was surprised she was there so early so I asked if something was wrong. She sort of started crying and Honoria explained everything, so she must not be taking it too well." BJ sat in the chair across from the couch.

"I would think not." Daniel nodded.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Benji asked.

"No, he doesn't know yet." Daniel motioned to the man behind the desk. "So, why didn't Charlie, Erin, and Peg come?"

"Peg had to work and Charlie and Erin don't want to have to make up all of that school work." He gave his son a teasing glance. "But Benji here, I guess doesn't mind the extra work." He shrugged. "That or he just wanted to see BJ again."

"Dad!" Benji turned a little red with embarrassment from where he was sitting in the other chair.

At that moment, the door opened again and in walked Janie and Honoria. They had just ridden their bikes over.

"Hey you two. Long time no see." Daniel said cheerily, wanting to try to boost Janie's spirits a little.

"Hi." They both waved a little as they came in and sat down in the other chairs.

When BJ (Pierce) woke up, she was very surprised to see Benji sitting next to her, his coat draped around her shoulders. BJ (Hunnicutt) was sitting in the chair he had been sitting in, reading the Boston Currier and drinking a cup of coffee. Janie and Honoria had gone with Daniel to try to find a vending machine. "What are you doing here?!" BJ asked, in pure astonishment.

"You didn't think I'd miss being here for my god kids' birthday would you?" BJ put his paper down.

"You flew all the way from California today?!" BJ was still a little tired and not thinking clearly.

"No," Benji laughed, "we flew in yesterday morning."

"Oh, that makes sense…Where's Grandpa?" She asked.

"He, Janie, and Honoria went to find something for breakfast. They said they'd bring stuff for us too." BJ replied before his son did.

"Oh. Have you heard anything yet?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"No, not yet."

**Back in the delivery room**

"Agh!" Margaret screamed.

"You're doing great Margaret." Hawkeye put another damp cloth on his wife's forehead and kissed her cheek while she squeezed his hand extremely tight. It was two hours and two little boys after the little girl had been born. Margaret was exhausted and just wanted it to all be over, but the last baby wasn't coming easily.

"I don't think I can do this!" Margaret's voice was strained.

"Yes you can honey, you can do it." He rubbed her shoulders a little as she got ready to push again. "Don't even think about this, think about uh…think about our honeymoon when you freaked out because you saw that spider and tipped us into the lake. Or…about-" He was trying to make her think 'happy thoughts' and not about all the pain she was going through.

"How the hell am I supposed to think about anything else!?" She winced as she got ready to push again.

Hawkeye brought Margaret's hand up to where he was leaning his elbow on the bed and kissed it. "You're gonna be alright honey, you can do this."

"Aghh!" She screamed as she pushed again.

"Doing great Margaret!" Charles encouraged her from where he was at the end of the bed.

**Boston General-Maternity Ward waiting room-10:00 a.m.**

BJ (Hunnicutt) had gone outside for a little fresh air and Daniel, Janie, and Honoria were back and had brought everyone breakfast that had been nervously 'inhaled' in less time that it took to find the vending machine that it came from. Janie had told her best friend all about Jim getting drafted while they were waiting, so she would be the one to tell her and not someone else. Everyone was very anxiously awaiting the news of the babies, but it wasn't coming very fast. BJ and Benji were on the couch, sort of huddled together, looking at an old magazine. Daniel didn't think they were being 'inappropriate' so he didn't mind too much. He figured that if Hawkeye came in, his mind would be on his new babies more so he also wouldn't think much of it.

BJ came back in through the waiting room door and looked down at his son and his 'nickname-sake'. "You know," he laughed, looking at BJ "I was never able to leave your parents alone in the back seat of anything. I guess now I can't leave you two alone in the back seat of anything now." The two teenagers laughed, a little embarrassed as they scooted away from each other.

**The Delivery Room**

"Okay, here we go. Shouldn't be long now. Here's the top of the head." Charles looked a little closer. "Well, maybe this one is going to be more like his father. His head looks like his other end." He flashed a teasing look to Hawkeye who wasn't exactly in the mood for jokes. "Okay Margaret, this one's a breach. It'll be a little more difficult, but you can do it."

"Oh my God." Margaret moaned as she tried to catch her breath. She was so ready just to hold her babies. She pushed with all of her might.

"Little more!" Charles.

"You can do it Sweetheart." Hawkeye rubbed her shoulders as she screamed in pain.

"Aghhh!"

"Okay, here we go. Gently, the head's about to come out. Gently. One more push should do it."

"That's what you've said for three times now and yet there's still always been another one!" She shot back at him.

"Well," Charles chuckled at the comment, "I promise that this is the last time."

"Better be!" Margaret screamed again as Hawkeye sat her up a little so she could put all of her energy into the final push.

"There you go! You did it!" Charles carefully lifted up the last baby to show Hawkeye and Margaret. "It's a boy!"

Margaret finally got to hold her babies for more than just a few minutes. After she and Hawkeye each held them for awhile, the tiny babies had to go back into the incubators and taken down to the nursery where they could get all the care they needed.

"Good job Honey." Hawkeye lightly kissed his wife on the lips. Margaret was crying many tears of joy.

"I can't believe it." She smiled.

"Me neither." Hawkeye kissed her again. "Should I go tell everyone?" Margaret nodded slightly before she fell asleep.

**The waiting room**

Everyone jumped as the doors, that went from the hallway where all of the delivery rooms were, swung open. Hawkeye emerged and before he could say anything, he was shocked at his best friend being there. "BJ!?"

BJ (Hunnicutt) got up and went over to his friend as everyone else did. "So, what's going on?!" He asked the question everyone was wanting to know.

Hawkeye beamed at his family and friends. "Margaret's exhausted and wants to sleep for a week straight," he stated the obvious first, "and we have four more of the most beautiful children."

"Well, that's great son, but can you give us the details?!" Daniel asked, a little inpatient with his son's dancing around facts that everyone wanted to know.

"Okay okay, before anyone hurts me…" He looked over at his daughter who stepped a little closer. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You have three little brothers and a little sister."

"What?!" BJ was excited. "_Three_ brothers!?"

Hawkeye nodded. "I have three sons and another daughter!" He was hugged and congratulated by everyone.

"So, how much do they weigh, what are their names? You have to give us _some_ details!" BJ asked his best friend.

"Well, the girl is four pounds five ounces, the first boy is five pounds three ounces, the second boy is five pounds one ounce, and the third is three pounds twelve ounces." He talked fast, like he had too much to say and too little time to say it.

"Names?" his daughter asked.

"We haven't even thought of them yet." Hawkeye shook his head and laughed when his best friend and godfather to his new children handed him a cigar. "Want to go see them?" He asked.

**So there it is! BJ has three little brothers and a little sister! Will Alvin actually come to see his daughter and new grandkids? That's what you'll have to 'stay tuned' for! There will definitely be a lot more, and I hope you liked this chapter. I pretty much had it written a few weeks ago. REVIEW! I love**** reviews! Click the button…now! Hehe.**


	20. Thinking of Names

**Chapter 20**

**That Night**

The new babies were sound asleep in their incubators, all being around six to eight hours old. Margaret had been taken down to a room, right across from the nursery. Hawkeye was now looking through the big window, at his tiny little children. He leaned his forehead on the glass and smiled, thinking about how he would actually be there to help raise his children this time and watch them grow up. He had been in the nursery a lot that day. He could stick his finger in the, almost fish tank-like, box that they were in (it broke his heart to see them in the glass boxes and connected to the machines, but he knew that they would be healthier after their time in them). He would touch their tiny, tiny hands with his pinky finger and they would grab hold of it. It brought tears of overwhelming pride to his eyes each time. He jumped slightly when his father came up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder while he was lost in thought.

"Congratulations son." Daniel squeezed his son's shoulder.

"Thanks Dad." Hawkeye looked over at him and then back over at his kids. "I just don't believe it. I actually get to see them when they're that small this time." He shook his head. "I keep pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming."

"How were you in the delivery room by the way? I don't think I asked you that." He asked with a teasing tone.

Hawkeye laughed, "Scared, guilty, useless…"

"Every father has those feelings." Daniel smiled knowingly.

"Pierce." Charles had just walked into the hallway, Larry walking close behind.

"Yeah?" Hawkeye turned to look at the two, his eyes sort of narrowing when he saw the man that wouldn't have let him into the delivery room. He was just thankful that Charles had come in the nick of time.

"Johansson has something he'd like to tell you." Charles looked at the shorter, scrawny man that stood beside him, and nudged him forward. Much like a father would do to his young son or daughter.

"Look, Dr. Pierce. I'd like to apologize." He rocked back and forth on his heals and looked down at his hands.

"Oh?" The man who was being apologized to looked at the man with questioning eyes. "Is that so?"

"Dr. Winchester told me how you're a great doctor and chief surgeon in Crabapple Cove and how you were at the 4077th. If I'd have known that, I would've let you in. I was just trying to keep my job is all." Larry shrugged.

"Well, I should have told you all of that." He looked teasingly over at the doctor who had come to the rescue early that morning. "I'm surprised he told you that." Shrugging, he added, "I just wasn't thinking clearly at the time." Hawkeye understood how the man felt.

"I'm glad you understand sir. I'm very sorry."

Hawkeye shook the man's hand. "It's okay."

**March 9th, 1968**

It was BJ's 15th birthday and Daniel had taken her and Hawkeye out to supper. Margaret would have loved to have come, but she was still recovering from having quadruplets without any painkillers. That could take awhile. They had gone to a little restaurant that BJ and her mom used to go to a lot. After they went out to eat, BJ, Benji, Janie, Honoria, BJ (Hunnicutt), and Daniel all went swimming in the big pool that the hotel had where the Hunnicutts were staying. Hawkeye had gone back to the hospital, but before he left, he gave his daughter something special.

"What's this?" BJ asked when her dad had given her a package.

"It _is_ your birthday." Hawkeye teased her.

BJ looked up at her father with the same teasing tone and tore the paper. When she opened the small box, she smiled from ear to ear, knowing the significance of the gift.

"Do you remember what I asked you at the reception, the night your mother and I got married?"

BJ laughed, "Yeah. You asked if I could throw a curve ball."

"Well, I thought that when we went back to the cove, you and I could work on that." Hawkeye put a hand on his daughter's shoulders. "I know that when we get to take the babies home, you'll feel a little left out for awhile, but I hope I can make it up to you." His eyes grew soft.

The dark haired teenager looked down at the contents of the package. There was a brand new, leather, baseball glove and a sparkling white baseball. "Thanks Dad." She hugged her father tight. "I love my first birthday gift from you."

"I'm sorry it _is_ the first birthday gift I've ever been able to give you." He hugged her to him. "I'm really sorry that I have to skip out on the first birthday that I get to celebrate with you Beej, but I have to get back to your mother. I told her I'd be back a half an hour ago." He looked at his watch as he slid out of the booth they were all sitting in.

"Dad, it's okay…really." He felt so horrible about it, but BJ tried to let him know that she understood.

The birthday girl had gotten other things from her grandfather, and friends later that night, but she had to admit to herself that her dad's gift really did seem like the best one. She also didn't have any hard feelings about her dad having to leave right after her birthday dinner. It was much better than it had been before, when she didn't even know who her father was. She really loved her dad, and their personalities were almost identical now that they had spent so much time together.

**The Next Day-March 10th, 1968**

"Oh, I think she's asleep." BJ and her father were going to go into Margaret's room to visit.

"No I'm not." Margaret opened her eyes and smiled at her daughter and husband.

"How do you feel?" Hawkeye asked as he sat on the bed and reached over to kiss her.

"Still pretty tired actually." She shook her head. "I didn't think I'd be _this_ exhausted for so long."

"We won't stay long then." He motioned towards their daughter. Only now, she was the_ older_ daughter.

"Why not? The nurse was just going to bring the babies in."

"Well, I guess we can stay for awhile longer then." He smiled. "How's that sound to you Beej?"

BJ felt a little queasy. Even though her mom was a nurse and had worked in that clinic for all those years here in Boston, the feeling of a hospital gave her the shivers. It didn't help matters that it was her own mother who was lying in the bed. She just didn't look as strong as she usually did. Of course she had good reason, but it just seemed eerie to her.

"Beej?" Hawkeye asked again.

"Whoa…" BJ noticed that she had been spacing off. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Would you like to stay awhile and see your little brothers and sister?" Margaret asked her daughter.

"Uh…" She was extremely nervous about that. She thought they were very cute from afar, but she didn't want to do anything that would harm them in any way and she was afraid that she'd do something bad. "Sure." She tried to look excited, but her nerves were killing her.

"Knock, knock." Two nurses came in. They were each carefully pushing two little carts. Three of them were lined with blue blankets and one was lined with pink. "Thought you'd like to see your new family members." The young nurse with the short brown hair was very friendly. The other one was too, but she didn't say much. They stopped the carts by Margaret's bed and handed two of the boys to their beautiful mother. The nurses then left to let the family have some time to themselves.

Hawkeye got up and gently picked up his tiny daughter. He was a natural with babies. Margaret had seen this when they were holding them after they were born. He was so gentle and caring. The handsome man with the dark black hair looked over at his other daughter. "Would you like to hold your little sister?"

"Uh…" She was afraid he'd ask that. "I don't know…um…" She felt like her throat was closing. "I don't know if I should…I might…"

Knowing what his daughter was going through, since he had the same feelings just days before, he carefully walked over to where BJ was sitting in the chair by the bed. "You're gentle. You'll be fine." He tried to reassure her.

"But I…" The girl bit her lip like she always did when she was nervous.

"Hold out your arms." He urged gently. When BJ held them out, he maneuvered the little girl in his arms and carefully handed her to the teenager. BJ brought her sister in closer to her and put her left arm under her head.

'Okay, this isn't so bad.' She thought.

"There, it's not so bad, is it?" Margaret asked, smiling at her two daughters while she held two of her sons.

"No, I guess not. I was just so worried that I'd drop the poor little thing…" BJ sighed in relief.

"I know what you mean." Hawkeye added as he picked up the little boy that was still in his little 'blue-blanket' cart. He went over to the bed and sat next to his wife.

"So uh…when are you planning on naming these guys?" BJ asked, much more comfortable now with her little sister.

"Well, I've been thinking about that." Margaret told them her idea for her sons. "What about Benjamin Franklin Pierce Junior, Henry Sherman Pierce, and Walter Max Pierce. We could call Benjamin Benny and Walter Wally."

"Too 'Leave it to Beaver'." BJ replied. She hated that show with a passion. "What about Max Walter Pierce?" She asked.

"I like that and Henry Sherman, but I have to draw the line at Benjamin Franklin." Hawkeye shook his head looking down at his tiny son. He was holding the lightest of the four. "I wouldn't stick _my_ kid with a name like that."

Margaret laughed. "Okay, how about Franklin Daniel?"

"That I like a _lot_ better than Benjamin Franklin." Hawkeye chuckled.

"So which one's which?" BJ asked her parents.

"Well, this one looks more like a Max." The proud mother smiled down at the boy in her left arm and then over to the one in her right arm. "And this one looks like a Henry." She looked up at her husband. "I thought you'd appreciate that name."

A solemn look spread on Hawkeye's face. "Yeah, I think it's perfect." A smile coming back on his face, he looked down at the little boy he was holding and asked, "So, I take it this one is Franklin?"

"Certainly looks that way." Margaret chuckled.

"Okay, so what about this little cutie?" BJ asked her parents.

"Well, I don't mean to sound like a horrible mother, but I couldn't think of one for a little girl."

"You're not a horrible mother." Hawkeye reassured his wife. "I couldn't really think of one either."

"How about…no, never mind." BJ thought she had something, but she didn't think her parents would go for it.

"What were you going to say kiddo?" Her father asked, curiously.

"What about Maggie…after her mother?" She looked at her mom.

"I think it's perfect." Hawkeye nodded.

"Margaret-Maggie…Maggie _what_ though?" Margaret was trying to think.

"Houlihan?" Her daughter suggested. "Margaret Houlihan seems to have a good ring to it." She chuckled.

"It certainly does." Hawkeye agreed. "What do you say Margaret? Should we name our daughter after her gorgeous mother?"

"You won't let us name one of our sons after his father…but, I guess it'd be okay." She laughed before she cooed her newly named sons that were in her arms.

BJ couldn't really grasp the fact that she was a big sister. She thought she would_ feel_ different, but she felt the same really. "You know what Maggie? I'm your big sister." She smiled down at the little girl. "You and I are gonna get pretty annoyed with our little brothers, you know. I mean, they're even your little brothers too. So, in a house with only three females and five males, us girls gotta stick together okay?" The 15 year old girl was getting very teary-eyed as she was talking, very quietly to her sister. "If you ever need to get something off of your chest or…you want to know something that you don't want to ask mom or dad, just come to me. I've probably either gone through it, know how to help, or know the answer to most of the questions or problems you'll have." She chuckled softly as she ran a very light finger over the baby's cheeks and touched her tiny nose, "I know you won't remember me telling you this, so I'll tell you again when you're older. Just, don't forget that I'll always love my little sister, no matter how mad I get at you if you get to annoying me with all of the questions I know you'll ask…just know that I'll always love you." The tiny little girl in BJ's arms almost seemed to understand. She cuddled closer to her sister, reached up and played with her big sister's locket. (The one Benji had given to BJ for Christmas)

**At The Hospital's Main Desk**

An older man with white hair and a small limp from an old war wound had just walked through the main doors of Boston Mercy Hospital. He slowly walked to the front desk and looked at the woman behind the counter.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked, very friendly.

"Can you tell me if Margaret Pierce has been checked into this hospital?" The man asked.

"As a matter of fact, she has. She's up on the ninth floor, across from the nursery. Room 922." The woman had looked in the big filing cabinet that sat next to her chair.

"Thank you." The man started towards the elevator to go up to room 922.

**Yeah, I know…that was a really short chapter and not the best I'm afraid, but I didn't exactly know what to do with it besides tell the babies' names. But, now you know them and you'll have to keep all of them straight! Ahh! Hehe. There's a bunch more headin' your way so don't worry. Also, you have to know who the man is too right?! The story's not over yet…not by a long shot. Stay tuned!**


	21. Howitzer' Al Houlihan

**Chapter 21**

Hawkeye looked down at his tiny son that had just been named Franklin. He smiled as the baby reached up and played with his nose. "I'll always be here for you, you know." The proud father whispered softly. "I'll be able to help you with your first steps, I'll help you learn to talk, I'll try to put your first bike together along with your brothers' and sister's." He chuckled a little, "Maybe that same day I'll accidentally teach you some words that you shouldn't say around your mother as well." He gently touched Franklin's nose. "But, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you and don't you forget it." Hawkeye thought he saw a smile on the boy's face. 'You know as well as the next guy that babies can't smile yet at this age…it's just gas.' He told himself. 'No, that wasn't gas. That was a smile.'

While Hawkeye was, very quietly, talking to Franklin, Margaret was also talking quietly to Henry and Max. "You know, I really hope you two will love your life in Crabapple Cove. It's a beautiful town. I promise that I'll never make you dig up your roots to move from town to town each year. We're staying put in Maine. Your father would never leave that place." She loved watching her two little sons interact with each other. They'd grab each other's hands and tap each other and make cute faces at each other. "You're really going to love your father. He's such a wonderful man. He's warm and caring, and will do anything for someone. Even if he doesn't know them." The proud mother chuckled. "He's also the best doctor I've ever met so you two and your brother could be normal boys and get 'owies' all the time, but you'd never know it since your daddy would have them healed in no time." She bent down to give them each a light kiss on the forehead.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Hawkeye called quietly. Franklin was almost asleep.

Margaret wasn't looking up when the man walked into the room. She thought it was the nurse that would take the babies back over to the nursery. Hawkeye saw right away who it was, although he wished he hadn't. He didn't like the man all those years ago in Korea and now he didn't like the man even more because of how the man treated Margaret when she was pregnant with BJ. BJ on the other hand, had no idea who the man was and was watching him like a hawk.

Hawkeye looked over at BJ and noticed that she had a questioning look on her face. "Margaret." The man's voice was husky and his eyes were soft.

Margaret brought her head up slowly, wondering how much she really wanted to see the owner of the voice. "Dad."

BJ now knew who the man was and felt sick. "Dad, can you take her for a minute, I need to get something from the vending machine." She carefully got up and put her little sister in her father's offered arm. She ran out of the door and down the hall. As soon as she got to the pop machine, Charles walked by, clipboard in hand.

"Beatrice?" He looked at the girl with concern in his eyes. "You look like you just saw a ghost. What's wrong?"

BJ was a little out of breath. "He's in there…"

"Who?"

"My grandfather." She shook her head in disbelief.

Knowing that she wouldn't be acting like this if it were Daniel, he took a stab in the dark and guessed it was that awful man he had met back in Korea. "Alvin?" He asked.

BJ nodded and started crying. "It's all my fault. Everything, it's all my fault."

"What was your fault?" Charles asked in confusion, bending over a little to see eye to eye with the crying girl.

"If mom hadn't have gotten pregnant with me, then that stupid S.O.B wouldn't have disowned her, and mom wouldn't have been feeling guilty over it for the last fifteen years. And she would have been able to see her father." She calmed down a little when Charles put a hand on her shoulder and guided her over to a couch that was in a small seating area.

"Bea, it's not your fault. Not at all." He chuckled a little. "What do you think happened? You just formed one night all by yourself." The girl he was trying to calm down also chuckled a little bit. "That man," he scowled a little, "might have disowned your mother, but you are not the reason why he did. It's no one's fault besides his own."

BJ wiped her eyes and nodded. "Thanks Chuckles." She smiled as he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"You are definitely your father's daughter." He motioned over to the pop machine. "Why don't I buy you a soda and you can drink it out here before you go back in there and introduce yourself?"

"It's okay. I grabbed a dime out of my jeans from yesterday so I could get one."

"I insist." Charles got up. "What kind would you like?"

"Is there Dr. Pepper?" She asked.

"Be right back." When he came back, the doctor was carrying two glass bottles. "Here you go. A Dr. Pepper, proscribed by the doctor."

"Thanks." The man that had just given her the soda took a seat in the chair that was across from the couch and scooted it forward a little so the two of them could talk easier. "So, Dr. Winchester, you met 'Howitzer' back in Korea right?" When he nodded, she continued, "Did he live up to his nickname?"

"Very much so." Charles took a sip of his Coka Cola and chuckled. "He's quite the stickler."

**Room 922**

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Margaret asked, holding her two sons closer without noticing.

"I came to apologize…and to meet my grandkids." 'Howitzer' Al smiled softly at his daughter.

Margaret however, was not so friendly. "Why should I accept any apology from you?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you know what you've put me through for the past fifteen years?" She didn't wait for a response and hissed quietly at her father, careful not to wake up Max or Henry. "You made me have this feeling in the back of my head, for _fifteen_ years that I was a big disappointment. When I told you that I was pregnant with BJ, I thought maybe you'd be excited for me, but that didn't turn out how I thought it would. Or maybe it turned out exactly how I thought? And do you know what you did to your granddaughter? You made her feel like it was her fault that her grandfather wouldn't send her a Christmas gift, or a birthday gift, or a card…or give her any sort of attention that said you knew she was even alive. She probably thinks it's all her fault that her mom's father won't ever talk to her or didn't come to my wedding. Colonel Potter gave me away at our wedding and did the father-daughter dance with me because he's been way more of a father to me than you ever have or will be." She looked down at the two little babies in her arms to make sure they were still asleep before she went on. "So, why the hell should I accept your apology?" She was trying to be strong and tough, but a few tears slipped through and started down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Margaret." The man did look genuinely sorry. "I don't know why I acted like that for all those years. Truth be told, I wasn't necessarily mad at you, I was just sort of upset that you couldn't tell the father of your child and maybe have a, what was then considered, a normal life. I can see though that, my apology won't be any use, so I'll just be going." He looked over at Hawkeye. "Thank you for making my daughter so happy in the past few months though. That's what I wanted for her all along." He put his hat back on and walked over to the door to leave. "Your children are very beautiful Margaret." He opened the door and walked out into the hall. As soon as the door shut again, Margaret started shaking a little as she cried. Hawkeye set his son and daughter in their carts and took Max and Henry in their carts as well. He then sat on the bed and put his arms around her while she cried into his shoulder.

**The Little Seating Area**

"Feeling better?" Charles asked his friends' daughter.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. It wasn't exactly my fault that I was born." She shrugged, still a little depressed over the whole thing.

"Well, everyone benefited from it though." Charles squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Almost." She chuckled. The girl took the last sip of her Dr. Pepper and set the glass bottle on the table beside her. When she heard someone walk by, she looked up to see the same old man that had been none other than her grandfather, walking towards the elevators. "Should I go introduce myself? It doesn't look like things went too well." She asked the man with the balding head.

"Do what you think is right." He nodded as he looked at his watch. "But, whatever you do, tell me later. I have to get back to my rounds."

"Okay." The two got up and BJ started towards the elevator.

"Good luck." Charles smiled at her before putting his and BJ's glass bottles in the box that was next to the pop machine.

"Sir, hold up!" The doors were closing on the elevator and BJ ran to catch them. The man stopped the doors from closing and BJ made it into the small room. She was a little claustrophobic like her father, but not bad enough to have to take the stairs. It was just BJ and her grandfather in the elevator so BJ stuck her hand out to the man. "Beatrice Jane Pierce." She introduced herself.

"Colonel Alvin Houlihan." He shook her hand. "The Pierce used to be Houlihan right?"

"Yes sir." BJ nodded. "Everyone calls me BJ."

"Well BJ, I'd like to apologize to you. I want you to know that it wasn't your fault that I pretty much ignored your mother for all those years. You didn't do anything wrong and really, I'm not so sure your mother did either." The man's eyes grew soft. "Will you tell your little brothers and sister that I love them very much when they get older? And I'll tell that to you too. Your grandmother has told me so much about you. I'm very proud, even if I never showed it."

BJ's eyes were fogging up because of the unshed tears. "Thank you sir. That means a lot."

"Yeah, well…" the doors had just opened to the lobby. "I should be going." He stepped out onto the beautifully polished granite floor. "Tell your mother I said I love her too." Before he finished, the doors shut and BJ hit the button to take her up to the ninth floor again. When she got back up to the floor, she found Charles and told him all about what had happened on the elevator. He then walked her back to her mother's room.

BJ ended up waiting by the door for a couple minutes, hearing that her mom was crying. When the crying stopped, she quietly stepped into the room and took her seat at the chair by the window. "Beej." Margaret looked at her older daughter in a way that she knew meant 'come here'.

The girl got up and walked over to the side of her bed that was closest. Margaret grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry about all that. I just don't want you around him that much. He made me feel pretty lousy for awhile, but I don't want that to happen to you okay?" When her daughter nodded sadly, she continued. "Don't think about him alright? And none of that was your fault."

BJ listened to her mom, but she thought that there was something about her other grandfather that her mom just wasn't seeing. Margaret's 'Houlihan stubbornness' was getting in the way of her seeing that her father was really trying to apologize. 'Maybe it'll just take some more time?' The teenager thought.

After awhile, Daniel came and everyone held the babies again for awhile longer. The mood was brought right back up as well. Charles came in at about 7:30 and told the family that Margaret and the babies would be well enough to travel in about two weeks.

That Saturday, Daniel and BJ reluctantly went back to Crabapple Cove so BJ could go back to school and Daniel could get the house all ready for everyone.

**March 24th, 1968**

"They're here!" BJ was sitting in the living room, looking out the window while she was working on homework. The station wagon had just pulled into the driveway and had gone into the garage. What normally would have been about a six hour drive on the interstate or an eight hour drive on the back roads, took Hawkeye and Margaret about ten hours since they didn't want to be traveling for too long. They took a lot of little breaks to change diapers or feed the babies, but all in all, the trip went rather well. Everyone was very grateful to be home. When Margaret walked into the house, carrying Maggie and Franklin, she started laughing when she read the two signs that hung on the wall. _It's a boy!_ and _x3_ had been painted on a blue banner and _It's a girl!_ had been painted on a pink one. When Hawkeye came in carrying Max and Henry, he started laughing as well.

The babies really loved their nursery and everyone was glad to see that it finally had some residence living in it.

**April 1st, 1968 - 2 a.m.**

One of the babies had started crying again. Hawkeye rolled over as Margaret started getting out of bed for the third, or fourth, time that night. "Margaret, it's after two in the morning, It's my turn." He said sleepily.

"Oh yeah." She looked down at her watch. Hawkeye and Margaret had made a deal that if the babies were to cry before two, Margaret would take care of them and after two, Hawkeye would take care of it. While Hawkeye crawled out of bed, Margaret got back under the covers. "Good luck." She teased him.

Hawkeye, still pretty much asleep, stumbled across the hallway and into the nursery. "Okay little lady, what's the matter?" He picked up his daughter and sat in the rocking chair. He checked to see if her diaper needed to be changed, and it didn't. Margaret had just fed her less than half an hour ago, so he knew that wasn't it either. "Come on Doodlebug, what is it?" He brought her up and kissed her forehead. "Can't you get to sleep?" She reached up and played with his nose. "Here, I know." He hadn't noticed, but Margaret had just appeared at the doorway. "_Hush, little baby, don't say a word./Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird/And if that mockingbird won't sing/Daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring/And if that diamond ring turns brass/Daddy's gonna buy you a looking glass/And if that looking glass gets broke/Daddy's gonna buy you a billy goat/And if that billy goat won't pull/Daddy's gonna buy you a cart and bull/And if that cart and bull turn over/Daddy's going to buy you a dog named Rover./And if that dog named Rover won't bark/Daddy's going to buy you a horse and cart./And if that horse and cart fall down/You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town_." Before the song was over, Maggie's eye lids drooped shut and she was fast asleep. Hawkeye carefully got up and put her in her crib.

"Finally learned all the words to that I see." Margaret quietly chuckled as she put her arm around her husband.

"I thought it might come in handy after that little incident in OR." He shrugged as he put his arm around her waist and they walked to bed.

"You're so sweet." Margaret kissed him before falling asleep in his arms.

Everyone was very happy, being at home and it seemed like the whole town of Crabapple Cove had come to see the babies. They were really the talk of the town and even had the front page in the Crabapple Cove Currier. The whole city was happy, that is until the whole country was mourning the loss of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4th. Even though they were sad times and everyone gathered in each other's living rooms to watch the services on TV, they all still stopped by from time to time to coo the little bundles of joy.

**Okay, well I hope this was a good chapter for you. I'm afraid it wasn't the best, but I hope it's okay. Who knows, maybe 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan will come back again and things will be different? The last bit about Martin Luther King Jr. was a little random, but I thought that since it was such a big thing at that time and still is today I should put it in there. Tell me what you thought! There will be much more so stay tuned! Thanks for the awesome reviews!**


	22. Father Daughter Day

**Chapter 22**

BJ Pierce sat at her desk, typing on her typewriter that her dad had given her that Christmas. BJ mouthed the words as she typed. _I couldn't believe my luck that day. For so many years, I had been wondering who that man was. The one that was partly responsible for my being…_

There were quite a few sheets of paper sitting to the left of the typewriter that had already been typed on. Then there were clean sheets to the right, waiting to have the black print all over them. There was a nock on the door and BJ jumped as she quickly stuffed the written on sheets in a drawer and took the sheet that was in the typewriter out and also stuck it in the drawer. "Come in." She stood up and went over to the door, half walking half running, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't come in very far if she stood there.

"Don't want me to see what you're doing?" Her father teased her.

"No…why do you say that?" BJ shrugged turning a little red.

"I used to do the same thing." He smiled knowingly. "Sorry to bother you, but I wondered if we could talk?"

"Uh…sure." The girl that looked so much like her father moved from by the door and over to her bed. She sat up by her pillows and grabbed her _World's Best Daughter_ teddy bear. Hawkeye sat at the opposite corner and looked over at his daughter with soft eyes.

"I just wanted to come up to apologize." His bright blue eyes clouded over a little.

"What do you mean?" His daughter asked. "What did you do?" She teased him.

"Your mom and grandpa and I haven't really been giving you as much attention as we used to lately."

"Of course not." BJ understood. "The babies are only four months old. They need a lot of attention." She didn't realize she was doing it, but she was looking to the side, feeling a little jealous.

"Yeah. And I have a feeling that your coming up here all the time or going down to the beach quite often has something to do with that." Hawkeye's daughter was spending about half of her day up in her room, typing, or walking on the beach, looking for beach glass the other half. She was only with her parents for meal times and even then she didn't talk much. "I just have a feeling that you don't think we want to spend time with you anymore." He smiled sadly at BJ. "You know that's not true right?"

BJ chuckled. "I know that's not true dad." She took a deep breath before she continued. "It's just that…for fourteen years, I didn't have to share my mom with anyone. And then you came along," she chuckled when her father did an over exaggerated 'grin and shrug', "then, I loved sharing her because heck, you're my father. Now I guess I just feel a little jealous because those kids get to know their father from the time they were born. It's only been a little over a year for me. And now I don't get to hang out with you all the time like I did before because they need you and mom more than I do. And it's the same with Grandpa." She had been keeping all of that bottled up like she was so good at doing, and it felt good to get it off her chest.

"Well, that's kind of what I thought was going on." Hawkeye nodded. "I never had any brothers or sister, so I can't exactly say that I know what your going through, but I sure am sorry you are. I want to make it up to you." The smile came back to his face. "What do you say you and I go out back and I'll try to teach you how to do that curve ball I promised. Then, maybe later you and I could go to the diner and get some supper."

BJ smiled. "But what about mom and the kids?"

"Your grandpa said he'd help with them tonight. They think we need to spend a little more time together too." He stood up and walked over to the door. BJ put her teddy bear back where it was and followed her father down the two flights of stairs. She grabbed her glove and the baseball from where they sat by the back door. Hawkeye ran out to the garage to get his glove, and they met in the back yard.

"Okay Beej, right here." Hawkeye squeezed his glove shut, opened it again, and punched the inside 'catcher style'. BJ stood the regulation length away and focused on her dad's glove. Her fingers were exactly how he showed her. After taking a deep breath, she hurled the ball into Hawkeye's glove, the ball curving slightly in the air. "Haha! That's great BJ!" He grabbed the ball from out of the glove and threw it back to his daughter.

"Thanks dad." She smiled as she focused on throwing the next pitch. After about thirty pitches, BJ's arm was tired and Hawkeye's hand was a little sore. His glove didn't exactly have enough padding to stand up next to his daughter's pitches. Rubbing her arm a little, BJ looked at her father. "How about we stop for awhile. My arm kind of hurts."

"I was just going to suggest that. If we do much more of that, I'll have to get a new glove." He took his left hand out of the old mitt and massaged his palm. After pulling the baseball cap that BJ was wearing over her eyes, he put his arm around her shoulders and chuckled, "Nice shootin' Tex."

BJ laughed as she straightened out her cap and looked up at her father. "So, what do we want to do now?"

"Well, I've been thinking…" The two walked through the open gate and around the house to the garage. "You have your permit right?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"How much driving have you done?" Her father asked.

"Uh…not too much. I didn't really want to learn in Boston. Really busy roads there."

"How would you like to learn from your old man?" Hawkeye threw his glove on the shelf where he got it from.

BJ laughed. "Do you have a death wish?"

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Just go get your permit and we'll take it from there."

"Okay…" She replied nervously as she turned around and ran to her room. Coming back down the stairs though, her mom stopped her, Maggie in her arms.

"So what are you guys doing now?" She asked.

"Dad's gonna try to teach me how do drive." BJ chuckled.

"Look out Maine!" Margaret laughed as she gave her oldest daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Be careful."

"I will." BJ smiled as she opened the front door. "Bye mom!" She waved at her little sister. "Bye Magpie."

"Say goodbye Mags." Margaret lifted her daughter's tiny arm and gently waved it towards BJ. The little girl giggled her cute baby laugh.

"Okay Beej. Hop in." Hawkeye sat behind the wheel.

"I thought _I_ was gonna drive?" She asked, sort of confused but laughing all the same.

"Well, I thought we could go to the library parking lot." Hawkeye looked down at his watch. "It should be closed by now so there won't be any cars there."

About twenty minutes later, Hawkeye and his daughter were in the library's empty parking lot and he was behind the passenger seat. He looked over and laughed at his daughter. They weren't even moving yet, but she was gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were turning white. "BJ relax."

"How can I relax?! I'm going to be driving your _Firebird_! I don't want to wreck this thing! I'd be much better off in the station wagon." Her voice was a little higher with nerves. "And, I don't know how the heck to drive a clutch!"

Hawkeye tried to stifle a laugh. "I taught Radar O'Reily how to double clutch and if I could teach him that, I think I can probably teach you with this." He dug the keys out of his pocket and handed them to BJ. "Okay, here you go."

"Uh hu." BJ put the key in the ignition, put her foot on the brake and clutch and turned it.

"Okay, now put it in first." He gently reminded her. She put it in first gear and looked at her father expectantly. "Now ease off the clutch." BJ took her foot off of the clutch a little too fast and the car bounced and died.

"Ugh." She lightly hit her head on the steering wheel.

"Don't worry. I still kill it sometimes too." Hawkeye smiled reassuringly. "Try again."

"Okay…" She was a little hesitant, but tried again. After about three more times of trying to get her foot off of the clutch without killing or revving it, she finally made it and started going around in a big circle. They were only going about five miles an hour, but BJ was extremely nervous.

"Oh Beej, relax." Hawkeye tried to reassure her. "You're doing fine. How about upping it a gear?"

"How?"

"Put your foot on the clutch and pull the shifter straight down."

"Right." BJ nodded and did as she was instructed and again killed it.

About half an hour later, it was supper time and BJ got up to third gear. They decided it was time to call it quits for the day. "How about before we go get something to eat, we go back home to tell your mother that we're alive." Hawkeye teased her.

"Ha..ha..ha." She laughed sarcastically.

When they got back to their home on the hill, Margaret and Daniel came out to the front porch, each holding two of their new family members. "You are alive!" Margaret teased her daughter.

"Now why would everyone say that?" She asked sarcastically, pretending to be annoyed.

"Don't worry, at least your not reckless like your father was." Daniel smiled at his granddaughter who laughed at the comment.

"How is everyone?" Hawkeye asked as he bent down to kiss his wife.

"Perfect little angels." Margaret smiled at her two sons that were in her arms.

"Except when one cries, they all cry." Daniel laughed. "But don't you worry about that tonight, you two go out and have a nice dinner. We'll see you later."

"Okay. Are you sure?" He asked his wife. BJ was already in the car.

"Yes I'm sure." Margaret nodded, smiling. "Now go." She 'ordered'.

"Yes ma'am!" He winked at the former major. "Well, I'll see everyone later." He kissed his sons and daughter on the forehead before giving Margaret a tender kiss on the lips.

BJ jokingly reached over and honked the horn. "Alright alright, I'm coming!" He jogged to the car. "Want to drive?"

"Uh…no."

"Gee, how come?"

"Still don't have a death wish." The father and daughter laughed as Hawkeye started the car. They waved as they pulled out of the driveway and headed down to the diner.

"Hi you two." Suzy greeted the costumers.

"Hey Suzy." Hawkeye smiled.

"Just the two of you?" She asked.

"Yup." They said in unison.

"Right this way." The waitress lead them to a booth. "I'll be right back with your drinks." Hawkeye and his daughter were pretty much regulars at the diner so she didn't even have to ask what they wanted anymore.

"So," BJ tapped her fingers on the table, "What are we doing this summer?"

"Well, everyone's coming up for the Fourth of July and to see the babies." Daniel had arranged it and had only told Hawkeye and Margaret the day before.

"Really?" The teenager asked, sort of surprised.

"Yep. Your grandpa told your mother and I last night." Hawkeye chuckled. "You should have seen your mom's face when he told us. She was surprised."

"I bet." She thought for a moment. "Is _everyone_ coming?" She really wanted to see Benji again. She looked at her locket just about every hour and they called each other about every other day.

"Yes, _everyone_ will be there." Hawkeye sighed. "I don't think I'm ready for my little girl to be dating yet."

"You didn't exactly _know_ me when I was a 'little girl'." She pointed out, putting air quotes around little girl.

"You'll always be my little girl Beej. Even if I didn't know you then." He grinned a little sadly.

"Here you go guys." Suzy came, carrying their drinks and set them on the table. Before she took their order, they talked for awhile. "So, how are the babies?" She asked.

"Growing like weeds." Hawkeye replied, the twinkling coming back to is eyes. "I can look at them one minute and then the next minute they grow more." He laughed.

"I bet." She chuckled, "You guys ready to order?"

"We'll have the same as usual." BJ responded. Both her and her father handed the waitress their menus.

"So, how do you like being a big sister?" Hawkeye asked after awhile of talking about random things.

"I like it." She smiled. "I haven't had as much sleep lately, but it's still good."

Hawkeye laughed. "Oh, your mother and I haven't had much sleep either." Ten minutes later, they got their large order of fries and two side orders of chicken strips. (And BJ had extra ranch dressing.) They talked and talked and had a lot of fun. After their supper was all eaten, they went home and, after they helped put the babies to bed for the night, Hawkeye, BJ, Margaret, and Daniel watched some TV in the living room. Margaret darted in and out whenever one of the kids started crying, but for the most part, they were asleep in moments.

"Hey! _Hogan's Heroes_!" BJ exclaimed excitedly.

"What?" Hawkeye asked, looking over the book he was reading, sort of confused.

"The new season of _Hogan's Heroes_ starts tonight…you know, the show that I used to watch last summer…" Her father just had a blank look on his face. BJ chuckled and shook her head. "Don't tell me you've never watched it!"

"Nope."

"Can we watch it for awhile?"

"I don't care." After about twenty minutes and lots of laughter, Margaret walked in.

"What are you guys watching?" She asked, trying to figure it out.

"_Hogan's Heroes_." Daniel replied, grabbing a handful of popcorn that he had just made.

"Oh…" Margaret responded, looking at Hawkeye with some concern. She was worried that seeing the show, based in World War 2, might have some negative affects on him. She didn't really want to have to call Sidney Freedman and have all of that progress that he made during the last (almost) sixteen years, washed down the drain. But, when she saw that he was laughing along with Daniel and BJ, she decided that it must not be that bad and watched and laughed with them.

Margaret went to bed at about 11:00 and Daniel went up at about midnight. The 'Father-daughter day' wasn't over yet, so they decided to watch the shows that were on really late. At about two o'clock, Hawkeye noticed that his daughter was sound asleep. She really wasn't that heavy so he picked her up and carried her up to her room, tucked her in and called it a night himself.

Before he went to bed, he quietly walked into the nursery and tucked his three sons and young daughter in. He watched them sleep for awhile, thinking about all the things his family would be able to do together in the future.

"Goodnight you guys. I love you." He said quietly before he tiptoed across the hallway.

"How was the 'Father-Daughter Day'?" Margaret asked, half asleep.

"A lot of fun." He smiled and pulled Margaret closer to him.

**Sorry this chapter seemed a little slow. I just didn't know what all I wanted in it. I must have rewritten it about three times. I hope you liked it though. Tell me what you thought!**


	23. Fourth of July 1968

**Chapter 23**

**July 3****rd****, 1968**

"Margaret Pierce, you did _not_ just have quadruplets! You look wonderful!" Peg excitedly greeted her host when the Hunnicutts finally arrived at about 8:30 that night. Everyone else had gotten there at about 5:00, but their plane was delayed because of thunderstorms in San Francisco.

"Peg, are you _sure_ you don't need glasses?" Margaret laughed as she hugged the woman that had become one of her best friends. Not only did her daughter talk to Benji and her husband talk to BJ about every other day on the phone, but whenever she got the chance, she'd get to talk to Peg as well.

"I'm sure." Peg looked at her again. "You look great."

It was true. Remarkably, Margaret had lost most of the weight that came with carrying the quads and was now back into her favorite jeans. Sure, she had to almost hang off of the ceiling fan to get into them, so she was going to work even harder so she wouldn't have to do her 'monkey imitation' (as Hawkeye put it) anymore.

"Come on, everyone's out back." Hawkeye lead his best friend and his family through the house and out to the big, white-picket-fence-surrounded, backyard.

"Are the babies still up?" Erin asked.

"Yep, we thought we'd keep them up a little longer tonight so everyone could see them." Margaret smiled. Everyone was having fun, cooing and playing with the babies that were squirming around on the big blanket they had laid out for them.

Everyone had greeted the Hunnicutts, including a very big hug from BJ Pierce to Benji Hunnicutt. "Awww!" Both Peg and Erin's hearts melted when they saw the precious little babies. They were all huddling together and giggling when the other did. They were all so adorable.

After everyone had a chance to hold the babies, who were now about five months old, Margaret was going to put them all to bed. "Don't worry about it mom, we'll do it." BJ jumped at the chance. She didn't want her mom to have to miss out on the party. She lightly slapped Janie on the arm. "Won't we Janie?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Janie replied. Her spirits were much higher these days since she was getting a letter from Jim just about every week. They all said pretty much the same thing. He was 'fine' and couldn't give her too much information in case the enemy got a hold of his letters. He told her that he was taking lots of pictures and keeping a journal so she could read all about his 'adventure' when he got home.

"Come here Magpie." BJ first bent down to pick up her little sister. She was trying not to give one, more attention than the other, but she had to admit that she did spend more time with Maggie than her brothers. When Maggie was crying, she almost always wanted her big sister. BJ used to be nervous carrying her little siblings, but now she was comfortable carrying two. "You too Henry."

Janie, however, was not so brave. She picked up Max and then asked Erin, "You want to take Franklin? I can only carry one."

"Well of course!" Erin excitedly reached down and picked up the little boy. "You're so cute." She cooed. Franklin giggled in her arms and played with Erin's nose.

The three girls walked into the nursery. A few days after the babies were brought home, Daniel and BJ made little signs for above the cribs. Each one had another one of the kids' names. BJ laid Henry down first and then went over to put Maggie in her crib.

"I love the names you picked for them." Sherman told his hosts.

"Thanks." Margaret looked back at her husband and teased, "_Someone_ wouldn't let us name one of the boys after his father."

"It's not that great of a name. Why do you think everyone calls me Hawkeye?" He replied chuckling.

"It's not_ that_ bad." Daniel pointed out.

"Be thankful it's not Walter." BJ Hunnicutt teased Radar.

"Hey now." Radar shot back at the man, knowing he was just kidding.

"That _was_ going to be Max's first name." Hawkeye laughed. "Thankfully Bea said something so we switched it to his middle name." He also sent a teasing glance at Radar.

"Well, I think the names are perfect." Patty O'Reily smiled. "The name that you picked for Maggie is perfect. She looks just like you."

"Poor kid." Hawkeye joked, ducking quickly. Margaret looked back at him with a mock annoyed expression, but a moment later she was trying to hold back fits of laughter. They were sitting together on a bench that they moved to be in the group. Hawkeye then slowly scooted away and everyone laughed at the little 'show'.

"You better run." She laughed. Looking back at the woman who sat by Radar, she replied, "Thanks Patty."

"So Margaret, are you going to have more children so you can have everyone else from the 4077th." Charles asked, chuckling. "I mean you've named your children after BJ, Henry, Colonel Potter, Klinger, Radar, you, and Hawkeye. Where's me and the rest of us?" He joked.

Margaret looked shocked and replied, laughing, "After having _quadruplets_, I think we're done."

"How was that anyway?" Soon Lee asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Ugh." The mother in question sighed. "Hard. Very, very hard."

"Hard on me too, I think she broke a bone." Hawkeye joked, rubbing his hand.

"Aw, poor baby." His wife patted his cheek. "You'll live."

Everyone was talking and laughing. After about a half an hour, the three girls came out of the house and sat with their parents. "Thanks you guys." Margaret smiled. "How were they?"

"They fell asleep right away." Erin replied. "They're so sweet. I can't wait to be a mom."

"You can wait." The girl's father replied quickly. Everyone chuckled at his quick response.

This time around, both the girls _and_ the boys slept in tents in the back yard. They were on opposite corners of the yard, but BJ still had to hear Hawkeye's _Remember what we talked about_ lecture. That didn't exactly stop them though. At about 3:00 in the morning, they all snuck down to the beach and talked and walked along the water. The full moon was bright and it's light was shining on the ocean and making everything glow.

**The Next Day**

The Fourth of July was sort of a touchy day for Hawkeye, seeing as how it was the sixteenth anniversary of when that baby on the bus died. He tried to put on a happy face though for everyone and soon, halfway, forgot about what had happened all those years ago in Korea.

Everyone participated in the traditional Crabapple Cove 'Fourth of July celebration'. There was a parade, a carnival, and a huge lobster cook-off with tons of free samples. Everyone was dressed very patriotically with red, white, and blue shirts. They all had so much fun, bobbing for apples, doing different carnival games, and enjoying the wonderful food.

Margaret and her oldest daughter had dressed the quadruplets up in very patriotic clothes with flag shirts, red white and blue shoes, funny fuzzy flag hats, and each had a pair of tiny red sunglasses. They looked so cute and the two even decorated the strollers with red, white, and blue ribbons. All of the Crabapple Cove residence were shocked about how much the babies had grown and everyone was cooing over them. They were really the talk of the town.

At about 9:30 at night, the sun was starting to set over the ocean and the sky had turned into magnificent shades of royal blue to the east and pinks, purples, yellows, and oranges to the west. The Pierces and all of their guests had come back to the big house on the hill at about 8:00, had a big barbeque and spread out blankets and lawn chairs. Quite a few people were playing with sparklers and colored smoke bombs as the night went on. Now they were anxiously waiting for the fireworks to start. (Every year, a barge with tons of fireworks would go out to the center of the cove and set off the beautiful displays of light as soon as the sky got pitch black. The Pierce home was in the perfect spot to see the fireworks, without having to be in the big crowd, that contained just about every member of the small town, by the lighthouse.) Well, almost everyone was excited for them to start.

"I'm gonna go take the kids in. I wouldn't think they'd like the noise." Margaret picked up Maggie and Franklin.

Hawkeye picked up Max and Henry and followed her into the house. When they got up to the nursery, they went through the normal routine of changing their diapers and putting the tiny pajamas on their children and laid them in their cribs. After all of the excitement that happened that day, the babies were all fast asleep in no time.

"You want me to stay up here with them so you can go back down?" Hawkeye asked, putting his hands on Margaret's arms.

"Uh…" She replied a little nervously. "Maybe I should stay up here, just in case the loud noise scares them."

"Or you." His eyes grew soft, remembering that day in the cave. "I'm sorry Margaret, I forgot for awhile. Loud noises." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'll stay up here with you."

"It's fine Hawkeye, and I'll be fine. Go enjoy yourself." She gently guided him out the door. "You can barely hear anything in this house anyway."

"Are you sure?" He asked, completely willing to stay up with her.

"Yes I'm sure. Do I have to give you a direct order?" The former major smiled.

"Like _that_ would do it for me? Remember who you're talking to." Hawkeye shot back, eyes sparkling like the golden sparklers being played with in the back yard.

"Go." She chuckled. She then stood on tip toes to kiss her husband.

"You sure?"

"Yes!" She whispered loudly, trying not to wake up the babies.

"Okay, okay. Don't hurt me." Hawkeye ducked out of the room and down the stairs and went back to the back yard.

"How's Margaret?" Sherman asked, concerned.

"She's fine. She just wanted to stay up with the kids just in case they got scared with the loud noises." Hawkeye informed him.

"Well, I was sort of wondering about her too. When she and BJ paid the missus and I a visit, it was over the Fourth of July weekend and she got pretty shaky when the fireworks went off." Colonel Potter reminisced, "I thought it was because they make pretty much the same noise as shell fire, but then she told me about her fear of loud noises."

"Yeah." Hawkeye nodded. "You should have seen her last year. Dad, Margaret, BJ and I were out here waiting for the fireworks to start and when they did, I thought Margaret was going to break me in half, she was squeezing me so hard." Hawkeye looked up at the nursery's window on the second story of the big, white house with concern. "Maybe I should go up there?"

"What did she say?" The former CO asked.

"She gave me a direct order to stay down here." Hawkeye grinned.

"I think that means that you should stay down here." Colonel Potter laughed.

About twenty minutes passed and almost all of the 75 sparklers were gone. But, it was perfect timing considering that the sky was almost all pitch black. Before the fireworks could start, however, the giant flag that flew by the lighthouse on the Fourth of July had to be taken down and so did the one that flew in the Pierces' front yard. While the mayor (another one of Hawkeye's former classmates) and his daughter (a classmate and very good friend of BJ's) lowered the giant flag, Hawkeye and his daughter lowered their considerably smaller flag, folded it, and put it away. When BJ came back out from running in to put the properly folded flag on the kitchen table, the tune to the Star Spangled Banner could be heard playing down by the large crowd. Everyone had stood and sang along.

As the last words were sung_ 'O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave'_, the first firework was launched into the air and loudly exploded, making beautiful red, white, and blue sparks fly. It didn't matter how long the war had been over, that sound still brought shivers down the spine of all of the veterans in the back yard. Everyone else ooh-ed and awed over the lights and the noise. After awhile, the veterans did too, but the noise needed some getting used to. Margaret watched from the window of the nursery where it was very quiet. That was just the way she liked to watch fireworks. She hated having that fear of loud noises, but she couldn't help it. She was always over sensitive to them.

"Whoa." BJ Pierce stood by the picket fence and looked up at the sky, watching the beautiful lights starting back down to earth and then fading away before they touched the water. Last year's Fourth of July celebration was fun, but not as much as this year. Sure, that was the one she would always remember as her first with her father and grandfather, but this one was still more fun with everyone else. She and Benji were together the entire day, just talking or playing different carnival games. He had even won her a big white bear by getting the ring around the old pop bottle. There was something inside her that just felt a little more complete when she was around him. She didn't know what it was, but she liked the feeling. '_It's just a crush, no one finds their soul mate when they're 14,_' One of the snobbier girls that she sat by in Algebra 2 had told her when BJ was telling her friend, Amy, about what had happened at the New Years Eve party and how she felt then. The two girls had just rolled their eyes, but the comment stuck with her.

The girl with the shiny black hair and pure blue eyes like her father's, was thinking about this and was loosing herself in thoughts similar to that when another firework went off. This one was one of her favorites. She called them the 'Weeping-Willow-Works' whenever she saw it because the gold and orange sparks seemed to take the shape of a weeping willow's leaves and branches.

"Thirsty?" Benji came up behind her. They were standing on the opposite end of where everyone else was, but BJ's father was watching the two like, what else?, a hawk. BJ Hunnicutt was also watching the two between fireworks.

"Thanks." She smiled and excepted the glass bottle of Coka-Cola that Benji had offered.

"The Fourth of July is so much more fun with a big party isn't it?" He asked, not really knowing what her response would be. Sometimes the Pierce girl could be pretty outgoing, but in a bigger group he noticed that she was a little more held back and didn't say near as much as when they were alone.

"I love parties on the Fourth of July." BJ laughed. She looked back at Janie who was sitting and laughing with Honoria, Erin, Katie, Kimmie, Johnny, and Benji's twin brother Charlie. "One year, Janie's folks threw one heck of a 'fireworks watching party'. We all had so much fun. Jim was hilarious. He came out of the house with a grass skirt, coconut bikini bra, leis, and a ukulele and started dancing. He embarrassed the heck out of Janie, that's for sure." BJ laughed, but her tone turned sober. "That was the last time I saw Janie's parents. I had gone to this week-long resident camp at Camp Hi-Rock in Mount Washington. I had so much fun, but a couple days after I got home, I got a call from Janie. I guess the rest is history."

"That must have been pretty rough on her." Benji took a sip of his Coke.

"Very." BJ looked up to see another firework explode into color. "She and Jim stayed with mom and I for two weeks after. Every time they saw their house they thought of their parents and broke down."

"So, what happened so Jim could have custody of his little sister so young?" Benji asked.

"His 18th birthday was only about a week after the accident. After that, it was legal." BJ replied. "Good thing too, because then they would have had to go to their aunt's in Washington." She laughed, "She's something else. Something else with eight cats."

Benji laughed but it then died down and in concern added, "And now Janie doesn't even have her brother for awhile. How could the Army do that?"

"They shouldn't have. I don't see how they got away with- whoa!" A very loud report had come from one of the rockets sent up from the barge.

"At least she knows a bunch of Korean War vets who can help her through it." The boy with the long-ish, dirty blond hair said.

"Yeah. They've been a big help I think. Especially Dr. Winchester." BJ looked back at her friends and smiled. Keeping her gaze up at the fireworks, which were now coming closer together and starting to get into the finale, she asked Benji, "Do you think that a person can find their soul mate at 14?"

Benji chuckled. "I think it's a good possibility." He smiled over at the girl he had talked to a lot on the phone and loved to be around. She smiled back at him. BJ's right hand let go of the white fence and went down by her side. Benji's left hand reached for her soft hand. "I don't mean to come on too strong, but I think it's a _very_ good possibility."

"I thought it might." BJ leaned in a little as did Benji. Before their lips touched however, BJ's eyes flew open and she shot back, remembering what her dad had said.

"Did what I think just happen, happen?" BJ Hunnicutt asked his best friend who had just started getting out of his chair.

"Looks like that little talk we had paid off." Hawkeye sat back down, thoroughly pleased with what his daughter had just done.

"Hmm, let me guess what that was." The father of a 17 year old girl spoke from experience. "If I ever catch you kissing a boy before you're married, I'll lock you in your room until you're thirty and slip your meals under the door." He looked over at his raven haired friend who looked very amused. "Right?"

"How did you know?"

"I caught Erin and her boyfriend kissing one night when he dropped her off from a date." BJ laughed. "That boy sure did jump." The two men laughed as the finale roared through the fireworks.

Margaret looked back at the four cribs from where she stood by the window. It was a good thing that the house was as old as it was and the walls were as thick as they were. Otherwise, the babies would have woke up crying from the noise. And Margaret wouldn't be quite herself either. She hated how that little fear could control how she felt and acted at times. But, when the last firework went up, she tucked each of the babies in and quietly closed the nursery door and headed back out to the back yard. It was about 11:00 and the large group of friends had fun watching the people clear out of the area by the lighthouse. There were only about five hundred people who lived in Crabapple Cove and there were at least 450 down there by the ocean. They looked like a big herd of cattle and when all of the families got into their cars, they looked like tons of huge lightning bugs.

"Well, I don't mean to be the party pooper, but I'm going to bed." Hawkeye stood up and stretched as he yawned.

"Right behind you." Margaret also yawned.

Almost everyone went to bed at the same time. Even the teenagers all got ready and only talked amongst themselves that night in their two tents. After BJ had looked to see if her father had seen her, almost kiss Benji, she saw him start to get up, so she thought it might be a good idea if they didn't all sneak down to the beach that night. But, oh well. It still turned out to be a pretty good Fourth of July.

**Two Week Later**

Just because the summer's biggest and best holiday in the U.S. was over, didn't mean that the summer fun was over. The event that Crabapple Cove was best known for, Lobster Festival, was just one short week after the Fourth of July. Everyone was going to stay for the weeklong festival and they were all glad they did. They all enjoyed eating tons of lobster during the week and partaking in all of the events that the little town had to offer. During the Lobster Festival, Margaret found four little lobster costumes and dressed her little sons and daughter in them. They took quite a few pictures of the four.

BJ and Benji took a lot of walks on the beach, but Hawkeye wouldn't let them go alone, if he knew about it that is. So, they snuck down the hill almost every night at two or three o'clock in the morning. Janie also snuck down with Charlie a few times as well. The teens were having a lot of fun with each other, and really hated the thought of living so far from each other. They were all good friends and loved the time that they got to spend together.

Of course the former members of the 4077th didn't necessarily like living so far apart either, but they could at least call each other whenever they wanted to talk.

Today however, all of the guests were heading out, and going back home. They all had to say their goodbyes before they left and it was getting harder and harder each time. Especially for BJ and Benji. "Call me when you get home?" BJ asked the boy with the brownish blond hair.

"You know I will." Benji nodded and then looked over to the girl's parents. They were looking away and so were his parents who would surly tell Hawkeye, or be a little upset themselves, so he hurried and kissed her on the cheek when they weren't looking.

"See ya." BJ hugged him before he picked up his suitcase and started towards the car.

"Bye BJ." Erin also hugged her friend before going to the car. Charlie was shyer and just waved his goodbye to his friends before getting into the car with his brother and sister.

"I think we're heading out now too." Janie and Honoria came over to BJ.

"Are you sure you can't stay for awhile longer?" BJ asked her best friend and Honoria, who was becoming one of her best friends.

"Yeah, dad has to get back to work in the morning." Honoria replied sadly. "But, I'll talk to you later." She hugged her friend, picked up her suitcase and went to her dad's car.

"Listen, if you need anything…" BJ hugged her best friend.

"Yeah. I will." Janie knew what she was going to say. "Thanks for everything." She pulled away and looked at her best friend. "Tell your parents I said thanks too."

"I will." The Pierce girl nodded. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"You better." Janie laughed and was the next to go to the car.

"Goodbye BJ." Hawkeye gave his best friend a hug.

"See you later Hawk." He hugged him back and then hugged Margaret. "You look great Margaret." He smiled.

"You're too kind." She blushed as she hugged him.

"Will we see you for Christmas?" Peg asked as she hugged the two.

"We'll be there." Margaret replied. The Hunnicutts had invited everyone to their place for the next Christmas. They decided that since they had all gotten together and become such good friends again, they couldn't stay from each other long and would keep the visits going on the different holidays.

About an hour later, everyone was gone and the eight Pierces were the only ones left.

"That was fun." BJ grinned as she and her father were playing catch in the back yard. They had been doing a lot of this so Hawkeye invested in a new catcher's mitt that could withstand his daughter's pitches. BJ was one of the pitchers for the Crabapple Cove High School coed baseball team that summer and they had won five out of six games so far.

So far, that summer was going great and the Pierces were having a lot of fun, but what they didn't think would happen, was about to.

**Haha, I could not resist another cliff hanger! Sorry that chapter took so long to post. I was pretty busy and the weather's been kinda crappy too, so I didn't exactly want my computer to get fried. I'm SO ready for sun! Hope you liked that chapter and I hope you'll keep reading to see what happens to the Pierces, later that summer. Oh, and keep in mind: I LOVE REVIEWS! Thanks for reading!**


	24. Rest In Peace 'Howitzer'

**Chapter 24**

**August 21, 1968**

BJ was again down at the beach. She had found a huge boulder that she could climb up and sit on when she didn't really want to walk much more. She was thinking about everything that had happened so far that summer. Hawkeye had taken her for a few more 'Father Daughter Days' (Which consisted of mainly teaching BJ how to drive and eating at the diner) and Margaret had also spent some quality alone time with her oldest daughter a few times as well. In fact the day before, they had left the quadruplets in the hands of their father and grandfather for the day and went shopping in Portland for school supplies along with new clothes for both BJ and her mother. When they returned, they expected the house to be a mess, but were surprised to find out that it was actually tidier than when they left.

BJ laid back on the rock for awhile and tried to work on her 'last of the summer tan'. She would be going back to school in a little over a week and didn't exactly want to waste any of the last moments of her vacation. She was sort of nervous since she would be a junior, starting when she was fifteen. (She had been bumped up a grade in elementary school, so she was younger than everyone else.) She tended to be considered the 'freshman' who had to do everything for the upperclassmen, even though she was in the same grade as the 'upperclassmen'. Only a few people did that at Crabapple Cove High though. Mostly, the people were really nice.

The girl yawned and raised her hand to block the sun from her eyes. She looked down at her watch and noticed that it was dinner time. She stretched, slipped her flip-flops back on, grabbed her beach towel, and climbed off the rock and up to the house. She loved living right by the ocean. It helped her fall asleep at night and it just made her feel so much more peaceful. When the raven haired girl got up to the backyard, she chuckled a little, going past the kiddy pool that Daniel had bought for her little brothers and sister. It was fun to watch them sit in the three inches of water with her parents right by them. They would always giggle and make tiny splashes as they slapped the water with their little hands.

The temperature almost instantly changed when she stepped onto the porch and into the shade. Maine didn't get _that_ hot, but it still got pretty warm in the summer. It was just the perfect temperature now. Not too hot, but not too cool. When she reached for the small metal handle on the screen door however, she heard the phone ring. Walking in, she called to the household, "I'll get it!"

"Thanks Honey!" Margaret called from where she and Hawkeye were on the carpet in the living room, watching the quadruplets perform their newest skills, sitting up all on their own and scooting around, but not really crawling.

"Over here Danny." Hawkeye cheered his son on. They had wanted to call Franklin Frankie for short, but realized that it made him sound like he was named after Ferret Face Burns, so they decided to shorten up his middle name instead and call him Danny. The little boy who had his mother's blonde hair and his father's features scooted over to him, slowly but surely. "That's my boy." Hawkeye picked him up and softly tickled his tummy. The little boy giggled and kicked in amusement.

Margaret was watching her husband in between watching Henry, who was now scooting towards her. She wished she could have seen Hawkeye with BJ when she was that small.

"Mom." BJ appeared at the doorway and Margaret made herself come back to earth. She noticed that her daughter didn't have the usual smile on her face.

"What's the matter Sweetheart?" She asked, getting up and starting towards the phone.

BJ covered the receiver with her hand. "It's Grandma…She wants to talk to you." She handed the phone over to her mother and took the spot on the couch by her grandfather.

"What did your grandma want Beej?" Daniel asked, concerned.

BJ hadn't even been in the water so her towel and swimsuit were perfectly dry. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders silently and then looked at her mother in the kitchen who had just frozen and then back over to her grandfather. Hawkeye was also looking expectantly at his daughter, Maggie reached her arms up for Hawkeye to hold her. "It's Alvin." She shook her head sadly.

Hawkeye looked back through the doorway towards his wife who was now visibly shacking. He quickly but gently set Maggie back down and ran over to the blond who was crying into the phone. He put a hand on her shoulder, knowing what had happened.

"Yeah…Bye Mom. I love you too." She cried as she set the receiver down. She started crying harder as she turned to fall into Hawkeye's arms.

Hawkeye rubbed her back up and down as she cried into his shoulder. "What happened?" He asked, moving some of her golden hair out of her face.

"Dad had a massive stroke." She cried. "He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital…Mom just found out awhile ago."

"Oh Honey." He kissed the top of her head, trying to comfort her a little. "I'm sorry." He gently guided her up to their room and they sat on the bed in each other's arms. Margaret cried some more and Hawkeye listened to anything she had to say.

"I don't know why I'm crying like this." She was starting to calm down a little. "He made life a living hell growing up, moving us around from base to base every year…and then what happened with him and I almost sixteen years ago." She was crying harder again when a horrible thought struck her. She looked up at the man who's shoulder she tended to cry on a lot back in Korea and didn't necessarily need to much now, but still did sometimes. The man that she loved very, very, very times a million, much was always very understanding and ready and willing to help anyone who needed it, especially his family. "Do you realize, that the last things I ever said to him and will _always _be the last things I said to him were mean and spiteful and pretty much said that I never wanted to see or hear from him ever again?" Her shoulders shook some more as she wept. "How the hell am I supposed to live with myself for the rest of my life, knowing that that's what I said to my father, let alone the last words that he would ever hear me speak to him?"

"Shhh. It's okay. It'll all be okay, I promise." Hawkeye hugged his crying wife to him tighter. He couldn't help but to feel completely responsible for Margaret's last words to her father. Sure, they were deserved on Al's part, but what, actually who, it all lead back to was Hawkeye a little over sixteen years ago in the supply room.

Margaret looked at her husband with questioning eyes. "How the hell will everything be okay? My father is _dead_ as in never coming back. I can't right the wrong anymore by telling him that I love him. Those will _always_ be the last things that I said to him…now tell me, how could it all be okay anymore with_ that_ hanging over my head for the rest of my life?"

"Margaret," Hawkeye looked into his wife's eyes that had softened a little since letting her emotions out, "your father knew…knows…that you do and always have loved him, no matter what. It's just a parent thing. You know, like when BJ says she hates us because we won't let her stay out with her friends past 10:00. We know, and she knows that she'll always love us. Sometimes, an 'I hate you' is really an 'I love you'." He certainly hoped that worked.

"Where did you hear that?" Margaret asked, buying it completely. It made her feel a _little_ bit better, but some of the guilt was still there.

"My dad told me that about two years after I got home from Korea." Hawkeye nodded, thinking back to the day that they had gotten so mad at each other.

"What happened?" She asked, drying her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Well," he looked down at the woman in his arms. "To make a long story short, he thought I was being unreasonable for not wanting anything to do with the women around here. I was just too set on one very special nurse from Korea to even _think_ of any other woman." He chuckled a little, realizing how stupid the argument had been. "After I had said quite a few stupid things and we had cooled off a lot and I was trying my hardest to pull my foot out of my mouth, we had a long talk at the kitchen table at about 2:00 in the morning." Hawkeye sighed, "I kept telling him how much he meant to me and that I really didn't hate him like I had said, and he said that he knew that and that he would _always_ know that. I guess I just remembered those words and took them to heart."

"I did realize that with BJ, but I guess I just didn't think it still applied to my father and I." She sniffed a little. "I just hope you're right. I feel so awful about that."

They had been talking for hours up in their bedroom, and BJ and Daniel were watching the kids in the living room. "You alright?" Daniel asked gently, looking over at his granddaughter.

"I'm fine." BJ stared at the TV, not really watching it. She liked what was on, _Get Smart_, but just didn't feel like paying much attention. Everything just seemed to go in one ear and come out the other. At that moment, her little sister began to cry and she went to pick her up as the three little boys looked at their sister, wondering why she was crying.

"Why don't we go feed these little guys? They must be starving." Daniel reached down to grab two of his grandsons while BJ picked up Maggie and Max. She sort of bounced Maggie a little to cheer her up. It always worked.

When the four babies were put in their highchairs, Daniel and BJ opened up four jars of baby food and managed to feed them all, making sure that they got equal amounts before going to the next one. BJ fed Maggie and Max. One spoonful for Maggie, one for Max, over and over until both jars were empty. Daniel did the same for Franklin and Henry. When the three little boys and the one little girl were done eating, they cleaned them up, took them upstairs, changed their diapers, and put them in their cribs. It was about 8:30 and neither BJ nor her grandfather had eaten anything yet.

"What would you like on your sandwich Bea?" Daniel asked from where he stood at the small island in the middle of the kitchen. BJ sat at the table, watching and talking to her grandpa.

"Uh…how about ham, cheese, and pickles?" She thought.

"Okey-dokey. One strange sandwich coming up." He teased his granddaughter. When the two sandwiches were finished, he took them over to the table and sat across from BJ. "Are you okay?" He asked. Daniel noticed that the sparkle in her eyes wasn't as bright as normal.

"I told you already, I'm fine." BJ chuckled.

"Are you sure you're not the least bit upset?" Her grandfather asked.

"Of course I'm upset, I'm just trying to not let it get to me." She shrugged. "I don't know why I'm upset though. I didn't even know the man."

"He _was_ your grandfather."

"I know, and that has a big part of it. But, I never got to _know_ the man." Her voice turned a little more serious. "Plus, he pretty much disowned my mom because of me. Sure, he wanted mom to forgive him for that and all, but he still _did_ it. Why the H-E-double- toothpicks should I be the least bit concerned anyway?"

Daniel hadn't told his granddaughter, but the day that 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan had visited the hospital, hoping to talk to his daughter, he had seen him go into the elevator on the ninth floor and BJ run after him. "He was the man in the elevator wasn't he?"

"Yeah." BJ nodded. "That's the only time I ever got to talk to him really, other than that phone call."

"What did he say?" He asked.

"He told me that it wasn't my fault that he had ignored mom for all those years." She took a bite of her sandwich and a sip of her water. "He also told me that he loved me and was proud of me. And that he loved and was proud of mom and the babies too." After that, the two ate in a sort of awkward silence. Before she went up to bed, BJ made two sandwiches for her parents and walked up the stairs with them. When she got to their door, she gently knocked. She didn't know if they were asleep or not.

"Come in." Hawkeye called quietly.

BJ walked in and, seeing her mother asleep in her father's arms, tiptoed her way over to her father. "I thought you might be hungry." She whispered.

"Very." Hawkeye smiled up at his daughter. "Thanks."

"Yeah." She turned to leave, setting her mother's sandwich on the nightstand beside Hawkeye. 'Maybe she'll wake up and need it?' The dark haired girl thought.

When she cracked open the door and started out, her father whispered, "You alright?" His eyes were soft with concern.

BJ nodded, a little sadly. "Goodnight." She waved a little.

"Night." Hawkeye smiled back and ate his sandwich.

**August 26th, 1968**

This was _not_ how BJ thought she'd be spending her last few days of vacation. On the 22nd, the day after they found out that 'Howitzer' had died, Hawkeye, Margaret, and BJ left the quadruplets with Daniel for the weekend while they went down to Georgia for the funeral.

"Come on Margaret." Hawkeye put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Just a second." Margaret was still holding Henry and Maggie. She looked down at the two that were in her arms and kissed them each on their small foreheads. "I love you guys." She had a few tears in her eyes as she leaned over to kiss Max and Franklin goodbye.

"Margaret they'll be okay." Daniel reassured her.

"I know…" She hugged the two she was holding a little closer. "This is the first time I'll be away from them for longer than five hours."

"Honey, they'll be alright." Hawkeye squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I know." She set her kids back down on the carpet in the living room and followed her husband out the door. "Bye everyone." She waved from the doorway.

About an hour later, they were at the airport in Portland and on their way to Georgia. But, that was the other day. Now, they sat in the funeral home, listening to the eulogy that was being delivered by a man that had served with Alvin in both World War I and World War II.

BJ felt thoroughly uncomfortable. She had only been to one other funeral: Janie's parents'. It was awkward then too, but not near as much as it was this time. BJ hadn't even _known_ her grandfather. She had only talked to him twice. Once on the phone and the time in the elevator, but that wasn't enough.

She looked over at her mom who was silently crying into Hawkeye's shoulder. She reached over and squeezed her mom's hand. She felt pretty bad since everyone else around her was crying or at least tearing up, but she didn't even shed a single tear. The short, skinny, jet black haired, fifteen year old Pierce girl sat with one hand playing with the hem of her black halter-top like dress and the other holding her mom's hand.

She listened to the eulogy, but she didn't exactly agree with all of it. Everything in it said what a wonderful man he was. Well, she could beg to differ just by what he did to her mother. BJ sat back and listened, trying to figure out things about her grandfather. She was just thankful that he had been cremated and it wasn't an open casket service. That would have made it at least eight times worse.

After the funeral, the family went back to Margaret's sister's house. The Pierces were staying with Susanne, her husband and her two kids. BJ's cousins, Ellie and Gracie (who were quite a bit younger than she was), dragged her off to play with their doll house with them. She decided that she should get used to it though since she'd probably end up playing with Maggie at a small doll house too someday. Maybe she could convince her little sister that GI Joe was better than Barbie. Yeah, that could work. Then she could pass her stuff down to her instead of giving it all away or keeping it for herself.

At about ten o'clock, Margaret started out for a walk. Leo, Susanne's husband, was stationed at Fort Benning as well, so their house was right on the base. It brought back a lot of childhood memories back to the blonde who had lived here once as a teenager. She jumped a little when Hawkeye took her hand when he caught up to her.

"How are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"I'm alright." She put on her 'tough Major' look on. When they passed a tree, she smiled as she pointed at it. "I had my first kiss right there."

"Really?" Hawkeye asked, amused. "How old were you?"

"Fourteen." Margaret laughed. "He was my first 'boyfriend'." She put air quotes around the word as she reminisced.. "Sammy Clark."

"So, how good of a kisser was he?" Her husband asked, chuckling.

"Not the best." She grinned, but wondered why in the world he had asked that.

Hawkeye let go of his wife's hand and put an arm around her shoulders. He guided her over to the tree and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. The first quarter moon was shining down on them like a spotlight. They broke away for a moment. "Much better." Margaret whispered before leaning back in to continue the kiss. The two didn't get back from their walk until about 11:30 and everyone else had gone to bed. They decided they would follow suite.

The next day, the Pierces had to get back to Maine. BJ's school started on the thirtieth and Hawkeye had to work. They were also very anxious to see the babies again. Margaret must have called Daniel a hundred times while they were gone to see how they were.

**Okay, sorry about how that chapter ended. I know it wasn't the best. The story's not over, just so you know. There's a LOT more to come. I hope it didn't seem like you had to wait FOREVER to see what the cliff hanger was and I hope it wasn't too much of a disappointment. REVIEW! Thanks for all of them so far!**

**PS: Oh, and _attention 'Music Sweet Music', _I didn't mean to steal the name Danny. Sorry. Please forgive me!**


	25. BJ: College Girl

_I forgot to mention this in the Author's Note in the last chapter, but I just wanted to thank Music Sweet Music for giving me the idea for that chapter. Thanks! Hope you don't think I forgot about you! ;-)_

**Chapter 25**

**January 30****th****, 1970**

A lot had happened in the past two years. Hawkeye got to be there to help teach his children how to walk and talk and was loving every minute of being a parent. Margaret recovered from losing her father not too long after he died since they weren't that close anymore, and got a part time job at the hospital, working right along with her husband once again. BJ and Benji had finally admitted to the fact that they _were_ boyfriend and girlfriend, and when the Pierces were in Mill Valley they went on quite a few 'dates', although Hawkeye tended to follow them without them knowing. Jim O'Donnell returned from Vietnam, much to his sister delight, in one piece. He _had_ changed a lot, and took a lot of time to readjust to life in Boston, but when he did (with a lot of help from the Korean War vets) he was pretty much the same guy that left.

BJ was now seventeen years old, and for her sixteenth birthday, Hawkeye gave his daughter his Firebird when he got a new car of his own. She was now a senior and was going to graduate in about four months. Right now, she was in her most dreaded class: Calculus. She was trying her hardest though and kept up her 3.97 grade point average.

"_Beatrice Pierce please report to the office_." BJ sighed with relief when the PA system called her away from the boring lecture. She quietly grabbed her books since school was almost over for the day and made her way through the small building and into the office.

"Hi Beatrice. How are you today?" Mr. Tory, the guidance counselor, greeted her.

"Fine Mr. Tory, but I really wish you'd call me BJ." She smiled.

"I got corrected like that a lot from your father too when I called him Benjamin." He laughed. "I'll try to remember, really."

"So, did you want to see me?" She asked, looking around and seeing that no one else was in the room.

"Ah yes." He remembered. Mr. Tory was in his sixties, but was still a very good counselor. "I got a package in the mail this morning and I thought you'd like to see it." He smiled as he grabbed a big manila envelope from his desk with his name on it, and handed it too BJ. She was sort of confused, but took the package anyway and opened it for herself. When she read the letterhead, her eyes got pretty big with surprise. It was from the University of Iowa.

"I was accepted!" She exclaimed.

"More than that." Mr. Tory chuckled. "You've also been given a free ride. They're paying for everything. Tuition, dorm expenses, everything."

"Wow…but why?" She asked, sort of in shock.

"Well, as soon as they saw that you got a thirty one on your SAT's, they wanted to snatch you up before any other college did."

"Wow!" BJ looked down at the huge packet of papers that had all of the information about the college in them. "Thanks."

"Any time." He laughed, seeing how excited she was. "Why don't you go tell your parents." The bell had just rung.

"Right." She thanked him again and went down to her locker to pick up her homework.

"So, what did you do?" Sarah, one of her good friends from the high school teased her.

"I didn't do anything." BJ laughed as she closed her locker and got her keys out of her pocket. On their way out to the parking lot, she explained everything.

Sarah laughed when a thought struck her.

"What's so funny?" BJ asked.

"You got a free ride to a school who's mascot are the _Hawkeyes_." They both laughed at how ironic it was as they went their separate ways.

"Mom! Dad! Grandpa!" BJ ran through the door and into the kitchen where she heard voices coming from.

"What is it?" Margaret asked from where she was sitting at the table with Henry and Franklin on her lap. Maggie jumped off of her dad's lap and ran over to give her big sister a hug at the knees.

"Well, anyone who's going to college in the fall and doesn't have to pay for it, raise your hand." She laughed as she picked Maggie up. Maggie raised her hand and everyone laughed. "Not you Magpie." BJ grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Me!" She exclaimed to her family.

"What are you talking about Beej?" Hawkeye asked.

"Mr. Tory got a package this morning." She pulled out the envelope and handed it to her father.

Hawkeye looked at the letter that the college had sent for BJ. "I'm proud of you kiddo." He hugged her when she set Maggie down.

"Thanks dad."

"I think this deserves a trip to the Lobster Shack." Daniel announced after he and Margaret gave the college bound girl a hug.

**That Night**

"Okay college girl." Margaret walked into her oldest daughter's room. BJ was once again at her typewriter, but before she had walked in, she had expertly stuffed the written on papers into the drawer. By now, there were about a hundred and thirty pages with the black type on it. Before she finished what she was saying, Margaret looked at BJ with a questioning look. "What are you writing that you don't want your _mother_ to see?" She smiled.

"Nothing." BJ shrugged innocently, but turned a little red.

"Uh hu." Her mom nodded. "Well, I came up to tell you that, even though you're almost a college girl, you need to get in bed."

"One more hour?" The girl begged.

"I already gave you another hour. It's past 10:30..._and_ a school night." She looked down at her watch.

"Alright." BJ reluctantly got up and turned the desk lamp off. Margaret went over to pull the blankets down for her while her daughter whipped a brush through her hair.

"Are you excited?" The blonde asked from where she sat on the bed, waiting to tuck her daughter in. It didn't matter how old BJ was, Margaret was determined to tuck her daughter in every night she was at home.

"Kind of." She shrugged, putting her brush down and crawling into bed.

"What's the matter?" Her mother was way too good at figuring out when her daughter was unsure of something.

"I _am_ excited, but I just wish that I had gotten a free ride to a school closer to Maine. I mean…Iowa is over fifteen hundred miles away. How am I supposed to be that far away from you guys?"

"You can't let that stop you Beej." Margaret leaned up against BJ's white headboard and put her arm behind her daughter's head. "We'll miss you very, very much. But I read that pamphlet that the college sent you. It sounds like a wonderful school."

"Yeah, I know…"

"And their American Literature program will be great for you. You're going to try to get your degree in American Lit. right?"

"Gonna _try_." She nodded. BJ had changed her mind quite a few times, but it all went back to wanting to be an author.

"You can do it." Margaret kissed her daughter's forehead and started to pull her arm out from under her head.

"Mom, wait." BJ put a hand on her mother's.

"What is it?" She asked, sitting back down.

"I won't know anyone there…you know I'm not good at making friends…and I can barely talk to people I don't know."

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry too much about that. You didn't really have any problems making friends when we moved here. Everyone will love my little doodlebug." She hugged her.

"I'm _dad's_ little doodlebug." BJ laughed.

"Don't tell him, but you were mine first." She tickled BJ in her 'tickle spot' right under her chin, which set them both into a fit of giggles.

"Anyone mind telling me what's so funny up here?" Hawkeye had just appeared at the doorway, laughing himself.

The two laughing women tried to pull themselves together before their noise made its down to the kids' room and woke them all up. "I'm just trying to cheer our daughter up." Margaret told him, still laughing a little.

Hawkeye was a little confused. "What's the matter Beej?" He asked, coming to sit by his wife on the bed.

"Well," the laughter had died down all the way by now, "I guess I'm a little scared."

"How come?" Her father asked.

"I'll be over fifteen hundred miles from home and I'll miss you guys, grandpa, and the kids like crazy." She pointed out.

"We'll miss our little doodlebug too." He hugged her. His wife and daughter started laughing again. "Okay, I'm missing _something_." Hawkeye's eyebrow raised in question as he started laughing with the two.

"Never mind." Margaret chuckled as she stood up.

"Okay then." The raven haired man had a thoroughly confused look on his face. "Goodnight you little Hawkeye." They all laughed.

"How in the world did I get a free ride to a college where their _mascot_ has the same name as my _father_?!" She laid down as her parents each kissed her on the forehead. She didn't really_ feel_ like she was seventeen, but then again, she really didn't mind all of the attention that she got from her parents. "Easy. They named their mascot after me." He teased her.

"Yeah. I'm sure they did." BJ agreed sarcastically.

She reached over to turn the light off on her end table, but caught a glimpse of all of her pictures that had crowded over the little area. There was her parents wedding picture with her in it, in a bigger, wooden frame. Next to it there was the picture of her parents in Korea, in a small silver frame. And then, there was a newer photo in a medium sized, lime green metal frame. It was a picture taken by Peg Hunnicutt when the Pierces were all in Mill Valley for Christmas in '68. Somehow, they had managed to get Maggie, Henry, Max, and Franklin all to sit still long enough to take a picture of them in little Santa hats with their grandfather in a Santa costume behind them. It was a pretty cute picture that BJ kept out all year long, even if it was Christmassy.

BJ couldn't imagine not seeing her little siblings or grandpa everyday. She didn't even want to _think_ about not seeing her parents either. Sure, she could handle the week long camp that she used to go to during the summer, but this would be for months at a time. The, now, tired girl reached over and pulled the chain on the light, and threw herself into, almost, complete darkness. The beacon on the lighthouse would shine in her room softly every so often.

**August 25th, 1970**

"I love you." BJ was giving her tearful goodbyes to her mother at the Portland airport.

"I love you too." Margaret hugged her, _not so little anymore_, girl tightly with tears of her own in her eyes. "You be careful out there."

"What's gonna happen Mom? I'll be attacked by a giant ear of corn?" She did what her Pierce instincts told her to do, and made a joke out of the sort of said situation.

"It could happen." Her mother laughed as she wiped BJ's tears away and looked her straight in the eyes. "You call us at least once _every_ weekend okay?" BJ nodded, trying not to cry anymore. That is, until she turned to give her father a hug goodbye.

"Bye Dad." Her voice cracked from emotion as she threw her arms around her father's waist. She was still a little shorter than him, but he was also 6' 4" and BJ was only about 5'8".

"Goodbye BJ." He had tears running down his cheeks as he hugged his daughter goodbye. He tried to wipe them away before they parted, but didn't quite make it in time. "I love you."

"I love you too Dad." BJ wiped her own tears with the back of her hand before going to her grandfather. "See ya Grandpa."

"See ya Bea. You take care of yourself." He chuckled, "Don't be _too_ much like your father out there in the real world." He sent a teasing glance to his son. Daniel was getting pretty old and his grey hair had turned white, but he was still pretty young at heart and had enough energy to play with his grandkids while he watched them when their parents were working. Hawkeye had playfully given his father a light swat on the back of the head for his remark.

"I won't be." BJ laughed. She heard sniffling around her feet and looked down to see that her four, three year old brothers and sister were grabbing her legs and crying. "Hey," she knelt down, making sure not to squish any of them. "What's the matter?"

"Are…are…are we ever going to see you again?" Maggie asked. She had her mother's golden, wavy hair and looked a LOT like her. She was crying the hardest out of the four.

"Of course you're going to see me." BJ chuckled. "I'll be home for Christmas and New Years…and I'll be home all summer." She smiled.

"P…p…promise?" The little girl cried.

"Yes, I promise." She kissed her little sister on the cheek.

"You can't go BG." Max cried as he threw his small arms around his sister's neck. He couldn't exactly say BJ yet so he always called her BG instead. He had his father's nose and his mother's eyes and had 'strawberry blonde' hair.

"But I have to." She tried to tell him.

"No you don't…we can keep you under the bed if anyone comes looking for you." Franklin suggested, also hugging his sister. Franklin (more commonly called Danny) looked just like his father except for his light blonde hair and was sort of the 'Ringleader'.

Henry was the most quiet out of the four and had pitch black hair like his father and big sister. He looked almost identical to what BJ had at that age, with her father's eyes, nose, and smile. "But if we make her stay here, she'll be sad." He looked at his sister in a tone that meant he was serious (although with such a cute face like that, it was hard to make _too_ serious of a face). "We can't do that to her." He told the other kids.

"That's right." BJ let go of Maggie and gave everyone else a hug and said goodbye to them. When she stood up, she had quite a few tears in her eyes again, but tried to put on a 'big happy face'. She grabbed her suitcases and threw her back pack over her shoulder. "Goodbye everyone." She smiled.

Hawkeye had picked up Henry and Danny while Margaret held Maggie and Daniel held Max. Everyone waved as BJ was heading further and further down the hall and onto the plane that was now loading for flight 281 to Des Moines, Iowa.

**Later (Somewhere in the sky between Maine and Iowa)**

BJ tried to make herself stop, but she couldn't help the few tears that occasionally ran down her cheeks. She sat at her window seat on the plane, looking out over the clouds and down to the ground that looked like a huge patchwork quilt. She knew she should be excited, and she was, but there was just something about all this that didn't seem real. She had heard over and over from her parents _I just can't believe our little girl is old enough to go to college_, for the past seven months. At first she was really annoyed by the comment, but now she knew exactly what they meant. She was thinking about all of this while she was staring out the window, the sun shining into the plane. While they were flying over Michigan, her eyelids began to droop and she took a nap from then until they were just over Illinois.

**That Night (Crabapple Cove)**

"I don't know how, but this house feels pretty empty without her here." Margaret whispered to her husband at about midnight that night after coming in from convincing the kids that BJ was _indeed_ coming back. They had been crying all day.

"I know. Who would have thought that a house with five kids and three adults could feel _empty_ when one of the kids leaves the nest?" Hawkeye wouldn't believe it if he wasn't living it.

"You don't think she's really _leaving_ do you? Do you think she'll decide to move out completely when she graduates?" She sat up and had sort of a worried look on her face.

"Margaret, I think we just have to face the fact that our _little_ girl isn't necessarily little anymore." He had a few tears in his own eyes. "Now _she'll_ have to be the one calling the shots for her own life." He shook his head in disbelief.

"I knew this would be a hard day." Margaret didn't mean to, but she started crying a little. Hawkeye sat up and held her in his arms, silently crying himself.

**Well, BJ's going to college! Haha, I thought it would be a funny twist if BJ were to go to the school where the ****_Hawkeyes_ play! The Iowa Hawkeyes are a pretty big deal in my little state of nothing but corn, corn, some soy beans, and oh look, more corn! I hope you liked this chapter, but keep in mind that it was really only a filler. There's a lot more to come and I hope you'll keep reading! Thanks again to those of you who have left me AWESOME reviews! It means a lot and suggestions are always welcome of course! HIT THE BUTTON! (Oh, and I hope you don't mind the big jump in time: Going from 1968-1970.) I'd also like to mention that, it doesn't seem like it would be right, but I did the math and the quadruplets ****_would _be three by this time of the story. Once again, I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! AND LOT MORE TO COME! **


	26. A Christmas Without BJ

_Okay so I said that BJ was 5'8" in the last chapter, but I meant to have her only be 5'4". So, thanks to Coasttocoast for pointing that out. My bad! Oh, and the SAT's should have been the ACT's. Thanks to Karen19 for pointing _that_ out as well. (That all REALLY helps!) Anyhow-thanks for the wonderful reviews and enjoy the chapter!_

**Chapter 26**

**December 22nd, 1970**

The phone rang at the Pierce home, three days before Christmas. The house was decorated for the Christmas party/reunion they were hosting once again. Margaret was at the stove, fixing supper and Hawkeye and the kids were in the living room, putting the lights on the tree. Daniel was out, buying some last minute Christmas gifts. "I got it!" Margaret turned the stove down and hurried over to the phone. "Hello?"

"Mom!" It was BJ and she sounded a little worried.

"BJ, where are you? Are you alright?" The girl's mother was worried sick about her daughter. She was supposed to be home the day earlier.

"I'm fine mom. I'm still in Iowa City." BJ was down the hall from the dorm room that she shared with (much to her surprise) Katie O'Reily. The pay phone had been pretty busy for the past two hours and this was the first time she had been able to get to it. "Mom…I have some bad news."

"What is it honey?" Margaret asked, now even more worried then before.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make it home this Christmas." She dropped the bomb.

"Oh no. How come?"

"There was a huge snow storm that blew in the other day. The power was out until about two hours ago. The airport's closed too."

"Oh Beej." Her mother sat down on the stool under the phone.

"Tell the kids I'm sorry. I _did_ promise."

"It's not your fault Sweetheart."

"What happened?" Hawkeye asked, walking into the kitchen and seeing his wife with a sad expression on her face after she had hung up.

"BJ's not going to make it for Christmas." She told him all about the snow storm and the airport being closed. They had already heard about the snow storm, but was hoping there was a chance that their daughter would still be able to make it.

"Well, this will certainly be an interesting Christmas." He said sadly. "No O'Reilys, no Erin Hunnicutt, no Potter's…and now no BJ. It's gonna be tough without her this year." The O'Reilys and the Potters were also affected by the snow storms. Erin had gone to the University of Minnesota in Duluth and had gotten the chance to study abroad in Europe.

"Oh my God. Christmas without my little girl." Margaret had a few tears in her eyes. "I was planning on telling everyone my news on Christmas and now she won't be there for the surprise."

"You could have told her on the phone." Hawkeye told the blonde, hugging her tightly.

"I want to tell her in person, not over the phone." She replied, being her stubborn self.

"It might have to wait until summer if you want to do it that way." Her husband laughed.

"Then she'll be even _more_ surprised." Margaret laughed as she kissed Hawkeye quick before going to the stove and returning to make supper.

"Well, what _is _the surprise anyway? You can't even tell _me_?" He looked confused at the last statement that his wife had made.

"I want you to be surprised too." She winked.

"Fine." Hawkeye sighed, knowing he wouldn't be getting anywhere with begging. Margaret was just to stubborn. "Should I go tell the kids about BJ?"

"Not yet. We can tell them after supper." She stirred the noodles and poured in the sauce, tomatoes, unions, and hamburger. They were having Hawkeye's favorite meal tonight: goulash.

"Okay." Hawkeye kissed his wife's neck and went back to the living room.

"Why was Mommy crying, Daddy?" Danny asked from where he sat by Maggie, who was also looking up at her father expectantly. The four three year olds looked so cute in their Christmas sweaters and Santa hats.

"Don't worry about that." Hawkeye crouched down by his kids. Max and Henry also came over, candy canes in hand, ready to put them on the tree. The raven haired man smiled at the four.

Not really knowing what was going on, Max looked at his dad. "Hey Daddy, how do we get the candy canes up at the top of the Christmas tree?"

"Well, like this." Hawkeye stood up and put his son on his shoulders and walked over to the tree. From there, Max could easily put the decorations near the top.

"Here you go Daddy!" Maggie came over with the silver star in hand. "We have to put the star at the top."

"We most certainly do Magpie." He put his son back on the floor and put his little girl on his shoulders in Max's place. "That's my girl." The man lifted his daughter off of his shoulders when the star was put into place.

"_Now_ what do we do Daddy?" Henry asked.

"Well, I think I just heard your grandpa come in." Daniel had just walked through the door.

"GRANDPA!" The four kids ran through the living room and to the back door where Daniel had just appeared.

"There's my little munchkins!" He put the boxes he was carrying on the counter and took off his big red coat that was damp from the falling snow.

"What did you get us grandpy?!" Danny asked.

"Well, what makes you think I got you guys anything?" He teased, picking up his grandson.

"You always get us something." Maggie pointed out the truth. Daniel was very good at spoiling his grandkids.

"Supper's ready!" Margaret had set the table and dished out everyone's goulash.

"Margaret, it looks wonderful." Hawkeye pulled the chair out for her before setting down at his own place.

"Well, I hope you like it." She beamed, glowing as usual.

About an hour later, the food was all happily devoured. "Margaret that was amazing. I'm sure BJ's missing your cooking." Daniel also missed his granddaughter very much. The distance between the family members was not working too well.

"Yeah. There's something we need to tell you guys." The maker of the wonderful meal looked at each of her children and Daniel with sympathetic eyes.

"What is it?" Daniel asked, very worried.

"Well, BJ's not going to be here for Christmas." Hawkeye gently broke the news. At once, everyone's shoulders drooped sadly.

"But she promised she would be." Maggie cried. "She pinky swore!" She was very close to her sister and hated not seeing her all the time.

"I know honey." Margaret got up and knelt by her daughter's booster seat that sat on the chair. "But she can't help it. The weather's bad in Iowa and she just can't get here."

Maggie cried a little more, "But it's Christmas. She's gotta be here."

"I know." Margaret stood up and hugged her little girl to her. "We're all sad about it." She tried to dry her daughter's eyes and comforted her as best she could.

The boys were pretty upset too. They cried a little, but not as much as their sister.

**Iowa City: BJ and Katie's Dorm Room (That Same Day)**

"What's the matter Beej?" Katie asked as she sat on BJ's bed. BJ was laying with her head buried in her pillow, crying. It was really sort of a stupid question. She knew what her roommate was crying about.

"I've only had three Christmases with my dad and granddad. And only two with my little brothers and sister…Now I won't even have this one." Her voice was muffled, but Katie still understood.

"BJ, I'm sorry." The girl's roommate stroked her long black hair. "There will be plenty more Christmases."

"I know…" BJ propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Katie. Being roommates, she was another of her best friends. She had three best friends now. Janie, Katie, and the very unexpected one: Honoria. The girl who had been crying, wiped her eyes. "I've also never been away from my mom on Christmas."

"Neither have I." Katie now had a few tears herself, just now realizing what it meant to be stuck at the college during the holidays. After awhile, the O'Reily girl had a smile spread across her face. "You know though, now we can have one wiz bang of a Christmas and New Years party with the others that are stuck here."

BJ laughed. "You know I don't _do_ parties. Why do you think I refused to run off to Woodstock with Janie and Honoria last year?!…Too many people!"

"Aw come on. What more is there to do?" Katie chuckled.

"Study…write…read…more studying-"

"You really know how to live girl!" The girl with her mother's blonde hair exclaimed sarcastically as she stood up. Katie didn't exactly take after her father in shyness. She was more like her mother and could talk to anyone. She was very outgoing these days. "Come on, why don't you and I go down to the café and get some popcorn. We can stay in and watch TV or something." The two had pulled some of their money together and bought a small TV for their dorm. It didn't get watched much seeing as how there was always another paper to write or another book to read.

"Alright." BJ smiled and followed her friend down to the café.

**Crabapple Cove: Christmas Morning**

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" The quadruplets chorused as they raced into their parents room, early Christmas morning. They jumped on the bed and crawled up to their parents. "Wake up!"

"Why?! What's so special about today?!" Hawkeye teased the kids that both he and Margaret were expecting to come in at any time to 'wake them up'.

"It's Christmas daddy! Don't you remember?" Maggie looked at him with a look that she had picked up from her mother that said 'like you didn't know!?'.

"Oh yeah." He snapped his fingers, pretending that it had just dawned on him.

"Well _I_ for one wouldn't forget." Margaret sent a teasing glance over to her husband.

"See!" Maggie stated, trying to prove her point. Her parents just laughed.

"Why don't you all go down stairs and wait in the kitchen. But don't go into the living room or Santa will have to take all of those presents back." Hawkeye chuckled, wondering if the 'threat' would actually work.

About half an hour later, everyone was once again sitting in the living room and opening presents. There were TONS! The quadruplets got a BUNCH of toys and loved every one of them. BJ Hunnicutt had given each of the quads a 'My First Joke Box' set, complete with whoopee cushions, rubber chickens, Groucho glasses like their father's, and anything else three year olds would need to 'reek havoc' on each other and their parents.

Benji Hunnicutt wasn't exactly himself that Christmas. He was being driven crazy by the fact that the girl he had very much fallen in love with wasn't there. He had gotten her a special gift that year and wasn't going to be able to give it to her for what seemed like ever. While everyone else gathered in the kitchen for a little 'pre dinner snack' he stayed in the living room and absent mindedly flipped through one of the books that he had gotten for Christmas. This one was about space. "You alright?" Hawkeye asked, noticing that he looked a little depressed.

"Oh, yeah. Fine." Benji smiled half heartedly.

"I miss her too." Hawkeye knew what was going on.

"Dr. Pierce…" The boy, who was only about a week older than his girlfriend, tried to find the right words. He sighed, "It just seems really odd that she wouldn't be here. I mean, we're almost the exact same age yet she's in college and I'm just a high school senior." He chuckled. "Although, it does give me that little boost in popularity, telling my friends I'm dating a college girl." Hawkeye sent him a glare that looked real for a moment, but when he started laughing, he lost his 'mean' look. "Don't worry Dr. Pierce, they don't think _that_."

"I know." Hawkeye laughed. "But I've known you since you were born and I'm your godfather for Christ sake, I wish you'd cut the 'Dr. Pierce' bit."

"Sorry Hawk." Benji smiled.

"It's alright." The man chuckled at the boy's mildly exasperated look. "So, what did you get her?" He asked, looking at the pile of packages where BJ's unopened presents were.

"Well, when you guys came to California for Christmas in '68, your daughter and I went to _Romeo and Juliet_ when it was at the theater down the street." He started.

"Yeah." Hawkeye had secretly gone too, but didn't say anything. After doing so, he felt pretty bad about invading on his daughter's privacy.

"Well you see, she really liked the music from that movie so I looked all around Mill Valley and finally found the soundtrack to it on an 8-track." Benji pointed at a small package with an envelope attached to it. "That's pretty much what that letter says in it. It's sort of sentimental I guess."

"You two are pretty serious aren't you?" The-girl-who-they-were-talking-about's father asked.

Benji nodded.

"Well, I think we're going to call her later today. I'll make sure you get a chance on the phone with her." He smiled, knowing what it felt like to seriously miss the love of your life.

"Thanks Dr. Pier-Hawkeye."

"That's better." He stood up. "Why don't we go get something to snack on while we wait for dinner?" With that, the two headed for the kitchen.

**Iowa City: Christmas**

"Katie, this is wonderful!" BJ had just opened the gift from her roommate. "Thanks!"

Katie laughed, "I thought it looked like you needed another typewriter ribbon. What have you been writing anyway?"

"You really want to know?" BJ asked, going over to her desk to grab the present she had bought for Katie.

"Yeah."

"Well…" BJ didn't know if she should share what she was writing or not. After a moment, she decided that she could trust Katie with anything. She took a big folder of written on papers out of her desk along with the wrapped box and put both things on the bed where they were sitting. There wasn't any other place to sit in the small room but the beds.

Katie reached out for the folder and opened it. "A story?" She asked.

"Yeah. A book actually." BJ shrugged shyly. "I've been working on it since I got that typewriter four years ago today." By now, there were about 200 pages and there was still plenty to write.

"_I was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 9__th__, 1954, but that's not exactly where my story begins. It really starts in Ouijambu, South Korea in 1950 at the 4077__th__ Mobile Army Surgical Hospital…_" Katie read the first two lines of the first page. "So far it sounds good." She smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks. Is it too corny?"

"No, I think it's perfect." Her roommate replied, eagerly reading more. "I'm guessing this is your memoir?" She teased, knowing that her friend_hated_ when people called their autobiographies memoirs, just to spice it up a bit.

"Ugh." BJ knew her friend was just saying that to get her riled up, but it didn't work. She just laughed, "I just thought that everything that's happened to me is pretty out of the ordinary so…I decided I'd write about it."

"Well, I think it's a great idea." Katie was now on the second page and was being careful to keep the unread pages neatly stacked. "You misspelled day." She teased her. "How the heck to you misspell _day_?"

"I must have been tired or something, but you just awarded yourself the spot of my editor."

"Yes!" Katie exclaimed. For some odd reason, she loved proofreading and editing things.

"So are you going to open your gift or not?" BJ laughed, handing the wrapped box to her roommate.

"Aw, thanks BJ!" She gave her friend a big hug when she saw that the package had contained a framed picture of all of the teens from the 4077th reunions. They had all become such good friends with each other that they missed each other greatly. "I wonder what they're all doing now."

"Probably hearing what mom's surprise is by now." BJ muttered, feeling very homesick.

"Do _you_ know what it is?"

"She wouldn't tell me over the phone." The girl sighed.

**Dinner Time in Crabapple Cove**

"Margaret, this is absolutely delicious." Charles commented on his hostess's wonderful cooking.

"Thank you Charles." Margaret smiled back.

"I have to agree Mrs. Pierce, this is incredible." Charlie (who was named after his father's fellow Swamp Rat but HATED being called Charles) agreed with his namesake.

"I'm flattered." She seemed to be glowing more and more throughout the day. "But call me Margaret." She laughed.

When the food was all eaten and the dessert had disappeared into the happy, and rather stuffed, guests, Daniel left to get something out of the kitchen. When he came back, he had a bottle of wine in his hand. "I'd like to propose a toast and I thought we'd do it right." He put a little in all of the adult's empty glasses. When he got to his daughter-in-law however, she said she shouldn't have any, so he went on to the next glass, wondering what she meant. When all of the glasses were filled with the wine, with the exception of Margaret's who's had been filled with more orange juice, he stood up at his place at the end of the table and raised his glass, as did everyone else. The teenagers and the littler kids had also had orange juice. "I'd just like to propose a toast to those who couldn't be with us today. The Potters, the O'Reilys, Erin, and my granddaughter Bea. But, let's just hope that they're having a good time anyway." He laughed, "What with all that snow, I'm sure the kids are having a blast sledding." Everyone joined in on the laughter as they clinked the glasses together around the table.

After Daniel's toast, Margaret got up at her spot. "Well, like I said last night, I have a little announcement to make myself. Actually, it's more like a _big_ announcement really." She laughed, "I haven't even told _Ben_ this yet. I wanted to wait until everyone was here for the surprise, but I guess I'll just have to tell them the next time I see them." She took a deep breath before she continued on to what she was anxiously waiting to tell everyone…

**Sorry that Christmas wasn't very detailed. I hope you liked the chapter anyway. You'll just have to use your imagination to think of what everyone got for each other. I just pointed out the main things. I also hope you don't mind that the whole Woodstock thing was only mentioned in passing. I didn't exactly know how I would work that in to this story, but I figured that that would be as good a way as any. Tell me what you thought on the chapter! Reviews are greatly appreciated as well as criticism! Thanks for all of you who have reviewed! It means a lot. There will be more. Especially seeing as how you don't even know what Margaret's surprise is yet!**


	27. Margaret's Surprise

**Chapter 27**

Everyone sat around the table, eagerly waiting for Margaret to tell them her news. Hawkeye looked at her from where he sat, right beside her, with a questioning look on his handsome face. "Well the thing of it is," she continued, "Ben and I are uh…" The blonde who was making the announcement reached down to take her husband's hand in hers. "We're having another baby!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Everyone's jaws dropped and the quads jumped out of the chairs and bounced up and down yelling, "Mommy's having a baby! Mommy's having a baby!" Hawkeye's eyes grew very wide, taking the unexpected news in. He hadn't the slightest idea that Margaret even suspected that she was pregnant.

"Oh Margaret that's wonderful!" The proud father to be (again) hugged his wife tightly to him. "You just made me the happiest man on the planet…again."

"Glad I could be of service." The expecting mother looked Hawkeye in the eyes and smiled, "And we thought we were done…!" She laughed.

"Knew you weren't!" Charles piped up, hearing what she had said to his former Swamp Rat. They all laughed at the man's comment.

**That Night**

"Well, I love you Beej…Merry Chirstmas." Benji had just gotten done talking to his girlfriend after everyone else did. He reluctantly hung up the phone and went to the living room where everyone was talking and the kids were playing with and inspecting their Christmas gifts.

"Didn't tell her did you?" Margaret asked, knowing that he wouldn't.

"No Mrs. Pierce." He chuckled. At this, Margaret cleared her throat in a way that said 'excuse me?' "Sorry, Margaret." He corrected.

"That's better." She smiled as Benji took a seat by his brother.

"Margaret, I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way, but I was wondering…how old were you when you had BJ?" Peg asked, trying not to sound harsh.

The woman in question chuckled, "Twenty-three." She replied. "How come?"

"Well, that's what I thought. I was just thinking about that. That would mean you were only twenty when you went to Korea. How did that work?" Peg looked a little confused.

"It's kind of a long story, but the main thing is that I took a two year course for nurses training instead of the regular four years. It was all pretty condensed." She started. Everyone nodded as they started to understand a little.

"How did you get promoted to Major so soon and in charge of all the other nurses at the 4077th at such a young age?" Charles asked, amazed that it even happened.

Margaret blushed a little. "Okay, so I _did_ have a little help there." She admitted. "I joined the Army when I was 18 by the wishes of my father and it helped to pay for my education and while I was in school I kept getting promoted." She nodded a little sadly, "For the longest time I thought I had _earned_ that rank, but a long time ago I found out that my father had been the one behind those promotions." It was a touchy subject for her.

"Well, _I_ think you deserved the rank of Major." BJ Hunnicutt smiled reassuringly at the former head nurse. "You are one hell of a nurse."

"Thanks Beej." Margaret wiped a couple tears from her eyes and Hawkeye rubbed her arm.

"Remember what I told you when we came back from the aid station?" He asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Margaret laughed. "Yep." She nodded. "You said that I was your favorite officer in the whole U.S. Army."

"Still are too, even if you _did_ resign your commission." He bent down to kiss her on the lips while the adults all 'Oooh-ed and awed' at the scene. When the kiss broke, Hawkeye stood up and went over to his three sons and daughter who were all playing with the 'joke boxes' that their 'Uncle' BJ had given them. "You guys know what time it is?" He asked, crouching down to their level. When they all looked at their father with confused expressions, Hawkeye chuckled when he said, "It's bedtime for Bonzo, and all the other monkeys." All of the experienced parents laughed, remembering what bedtime was like when their kids were that small.

"Aww Daddy!" Max whined as Maggie yawned.

"Well, do you guys know what hawks do with _their_ kids to make them go to sleep?" Their father asked them, mischief still in his eyes.

"What do they do?" Danny asked curiously.

"You guys go up and put your pajamas on and brush your teeth. When you come back down here, I'll show you."

"Okay!" The four little kids darted up the stairs.

"Very clever Hawkeye." The man's best friend laughed along with everyone else.

When the four kids came back into the living room, they all asked, "What do they do!?" at the same time.

"Well, they snatch their kids up one at a time and fly them everywhere to ware them out." While saying this, he had picked up Danny and was running all over the room while his son giggled. "Then, they run up and put them in their nest and into bed." The little boy giggled as his father ran up the stairs with him and lightly dropped him on his bed. The four cribs had been replaced with four small toddler beds, but luckily they had kept the cribs in the basement. "Nighty-night." Hawkeye tucked his son in before running back down the stairs and repeating the process three more times.

When all four of the kids were put to bed, Hawkeye plopped down on the couch by his wife, a little worn out himself.

"That was a pretty good show Hawk." Father Mulcahy chuckled. "I wish _my_ father would have been as good as you seem to be."

"He's a wonderful father." Margaret put a hand on her husband's knee.

"Comes from being around such a wonderful mother." He looked deeply into her eyes.

"Maybe we should all go to bed ourselves so you two can be alone." Max Klinger teased.

"I think I'm going to bed anyway, I'm exhausted." BJ looked at his watch. "It _is_ almost midnight."

"And we got up around seven." Margaret yawned.

The house grew silent after everyone had gone to bed. Margaret was almost asleep, but every time she started to doze off, Hawkeye moved again. "Honey, what's wrong?" She asked, putting a hand on his back that was away from her.

"You really want to know?" He asked, turning over to face her.

"Of course." She ran her hand through his hair. It had become a little more grey, but not too much. It was still mainly black.

"Well, I was just thinking…when this baby is four years old, I'll be fifty." He sighed, "I'll be _old_."

"Oh honey." Margaret scooted a little closer. "Don't worry about that now." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. There was no apparent sign that she was pregnant now since she was only a little over a month along. "This baby will have everything that our other children have…a wonderful father. It won't matter how 'old' you are either. You're only 46 now. That's _not_ old." She pointed out. "Besides, you're the picture of health…I know you'll be here for a long time. Just like_ your _father."

"You may be right." Hawkeye still had a hint of worry in his eyes. "Aren't you worried though that we won't have the energy to keep up with him or her?"

Margaret laughed. "Like we have the energy to keep up with the kids now?"

"True, very true." He chuckled.

"If anyone should be worried…_I'm_ the one to be worried."

"Why's that?"

"Well, for starters, I'm _41_! That's old!" She teased.

"Hypocrite." Hawkeye smiled.

"I _am_ worried though…that when it's time for the baby to come…I just hope I'll be strong enough." She sighed and turned to fluff her pillow up a little more.

"Margaret, you were strong enough to have quadruplets without any painkillers. That was only three years ago and you're still the healthiest woman I know." He rubbed her back. "I really don't think you have to worry, Honey."

"God, I hope you're right." Margaret sighed as she scooted herself down a little so her head was on Hawkeye's chest. That was her favorite place to fall asleep and also Hawkeye's favorite place for her to fall asleep.

"I know I'm right, but you don't have to call me God. I'm not that good." Hawkeye joked, kissing the top of his wife's head. He then got a playful jab in the stomach.

**New Years Eve: Iowa City**

"Come on Beej! What are you doing in here?" Katie was at the door to their room.

"I really don't feel like a party tonight Kat. I'm sorry." BJ sat at her desk, typing more of her book. "What's that?" She asked, looking at the cup in her friend's hand.

"This?" Katie raised the cup. "Nothing." She replied defensively.

"Oh yeah." The girl with the dark black hair and piercing blue eyes walked over and looked at the contents of the cup in question. "That's beer. I can even smell it." She stood with a hand on her hip and her gave her mother's best annoyed expression.

"I'm the legal age." Katie pointed out.

"Whatever." BJ went back to her desk, purely annoyed. "Just keep it out of here."

"So you're not going down to the party?"

"Not if there's alcohol involved." She turned around and typed more, the keys being tapped hard, angrily.

When her roommate had disappeared, BJ went over to shut the door and collapsed on her bed. That's all she needed to do was go down to a New Years Eve party where there would, more than likely, be couples kissing at midnight (along with other things), which was only a few minutes away. She missed Benji really bad and couldn't stop thinking about him. She kept a countdown going in one of her notebooks though until the next time she would be able to see him. The next time would be when the Pierces and everyone else from the 4077th would meet in Hannibal, Missouri for the week of the Fourth of July at the Potter's.

The girl just couldn't help the tears that came. The airport had opened again this morning, but there was no way to get home in time for her New Years Eve kiss from the love of her life. She would have to go home, stay for maybe a few hours and get right back on that plane in order to make it back by January second when classes resumed. She was feeling very homesick and wanted to see her parents, her siblings, her grandpa and of course Benji, but she knew it wouldn't happen until that summer though. They had all kept in touch with phone calls and letters, but it just wasn't the same. Every week she'd get a letter from her mom, one from her dad, four pictures drawn in crayon from her little brothers and sister, and another letter from her grandfather, all in a single package. She'd also call her family and Benji whenever she got the chance.

BJ had set the alarm clock that sat by her bed to midnight. When it went off, BJ jumped, almost falling asleep. She wished that when she had reached out to turn the bell off, Benji would have reached out and turned it off _for_ her. 'Is this what mom went through for fourteen years?' The very lovesick girl wondered. 'If so…this really bites!' She got up and went out the door and down the hallway, seeing if they're were people using the payphone. Luckily it was unoccupied and she was able to call home and wish everyone a happy 1971.

**So, I know that the explanation I gave for why Margaret was a Major and head nurse at such a young age is wrong, and heck I know the age that I gave her is wrong too, but oh well. If the writer's on MASH could mess around with people's ages, so can I! Haha. Hope it seems even a tad bit realistic? Again, sorry for the cliffhanger and I know this chapter wasn't as long as usual. I had a serious case of Writer's Block. I'm afraid that the story might be winding down here after the next few chapters, so enjoy it while it lasts because I think there might only be about 6 or 7 more chapters left to write! (Just a guess off the top of my head) But, I would like to know what you guys would think about a prequel. Good idea…bad? I'd love to know. I already have the first couple chapters written, but don't worry I'm WAY more dedicated to this story right now. Thanks for reading! (And again, the story's not over YET!)**


	28. Welcome Back to the Cove, BJ

**Chapter 28**

**Seven Months Later**

"DAD!" BJ just saw her father across the room at the airport in Portland. Hawkeye turned around, from where he was looking out the giant window, and smiled.

"BEEJ!" He hugged his daughter tightly when she had run to him and dropped her bags. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too Dad." BJ couldn't believe that she hadn't seen her father since last Fall.

"BJ!!" Maggie jumped into her sister's arms when her father was finished hugging her big sister.

"Maggie?!" BJ couldn't believe her eyes. "Is it you?" She teased.

"Well, I'm not Grandpa!" Maggie truly had her father's personality and always had a comeback for everything.

"I can see _that_!" The, now, eighteen year old girl hugged her little sister. "You're so big!"

"Why don't we get you home, your mom can't wait to see you." Hawkeye grabbed his daughter's suitcase and duffle bag and lead them to the car.

"So, why didn't Mom come?" BJ asked her father.

"She's making supper." Hawkeye looked over to his oldest child, not telling her the whole story. He and Margaret had planned to surprise her when she got home.

"Cool." She was pretty hungry since she hadn't eaten anything since the day before. She didn't feel like having anything on the plane either.

The rest of the hour long ride was spent talking about college and things at home (with one major subject avoided). "We're here!" Hawkeye pulled the station wagon into the driveway and got out of the car. All at once, three little boys came running out of the house and hugged their big sister tightly around the legs.

"Hi you guys!" BJ gave each of them a hug and ogled over how big they had gotten in just the short of time she was gone.

"Come on everyone, let's let your sister get in the house." Hawkeye grabbed the suitcase and BJ grabbed her duffel bag and walked to the door.

"Mom! Grandpa! I'm home!" She dropped her stuff while everyone else came through the door.

Daniel came to the entryway, arms open and ready for a hug. "GRANDPA!" BJ excitedly threw her arms around him. He looked pretty much the same, but had a few more wrinkles around the eyes.

"Welcome home Bea." He hugged her back.

"BJ, in here!" Margaret called from the kitchen, sounding very excited.

"MOM!" The college girl ran through the kitchen door and over to her mom who was facing the oven, away from her. She had a white sundress on with little blue sailboats around the waist.

"There's my college girl!" She turned around and hugged her daughter, seeing that she had very wide eyes before she embraced her.

"MOM!?" BJ pulled away a little to see her mother's very rounded stomach. "Mom!"

Margaret laughed, "Guess what my Christmas surprise was?"

"Uh, I'm guessing it was that you're pregnant?" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Good guess!" The mother to be was eight months pregnant now and was absolutely glowing.

"So, how many this time?" BJ asked jokingly.

"Only one." Margaret laughed, patting her stomach.

"Well congratulations!" She hugged her mother again.

"Congrats to you too." The mother and daughter hugged for a moment longer. "You need to tell me _everything_ now. I haven't seen my baby in forever!" They set the table and talked about everything that had happened in the last (almost) year.

**That Night**

"You okay in here?" Margaret had just peaked her head through the door to her daughter's attic bedroom.

"Yeah, why?" BJ sat on her bed, listening to one of her Johnny Cash records at a very low volume and flipping through a magazine. She LOVED being back in her old room. She missed the space and all of the windows and everything else about it.

"Oh, I just didn't hear you tapping away on your typewriter. I've grown to fall asleep to that sound when you're here." The girl's mother walked in and sat on her bed.

BJ laughed, "Well, I was going to do some of that later." She looked at her mom and smiled. She had missed her so much.

Margaret gave the same smile back. "I really missed you, you know."

"I missed you too." She really had, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind to ask.

"What's the matter?" Again, BJ's mother was too good at telling when there was something wrong.

"Well…I've just been wondering if uh…you guys really think about me that much. I mean…with the new baby coming and the quadruplets being about four now and everything else…how do you even have time to think about me?" She sighed when Margaret had a shocked look on her face. "I didn't mean that like it sounds…"

"I know honey." She scooted over, leaned up against the headboard, and put her arm around her daughter. "I had the same feelings when I went to Korea. I didn't know how on earth anyone would have time to miss _me_ because the world just seemed to go right along without me." Margaret really did understand, being away from home for all that time could really throw you for a loop.

"It sounds selfish, I know, but it seems like things are just going smoothly without me. It kind of makes me even more homesick, even though I'm _here_." BJ started crying a little.

"Beatrice Jane Pierce, I hope you know that we missed you more than you could ever imagine." Margaret squeezed the crying girl and wiped away some of her daughter's tears.

"I know…It just doesn't seem like _that_ many things changed when I was gone…" She looked at her mother's stomach, "Well, maybe _something_ changed but…you know what I mean."

"You should have seen your father and I for the first couple of weeks after you left." The blond took BJ's hand and looked a little sadly into her eyes. "We couldn't go past the steps that lead up here without breaking down and crying." She chuckled, sadly, "And your poor sister…I couldn't get her to come out of this fort she had made in the living room out of blankets the chairs from the kitchen."

"Well, I'll tell you what, I really had a tough time being away from you guys too. The calls just weren't the same as actually seeing everyone." BJ laughed as a thought struck her. "Whenever I walked by the big sign in the cafeteria that said _This is Hawkeye territory_, I just about started crying!"

The two women talked and laughed for a good three hours before Margaret looked at her watch. "Would you believe that it's 1:00 in the morning already?"

"Time flies…" BJ replied yawning.

"I should get downstairs." Her mother stretched as she yawned as well. When she brought her hands down, she laid a gentle hand on her stomach and laughed, "I think this one will be a boxer. It does a lot of kicking." BJ chuckled at her mom's comment. "You were the same way." Margaret leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead after tucking her in.

"Goodnight Mom." She called from her bed.

"Goodnight my little college girl." Her mother turned out the lights and closed the door.

"Did I hear some crying earlier?" Hawkeye asked when he rolled over and opened his arms for his wife to crawl into.

"Oh, she just didn't think we could miss her, what with everything that's going on and all." Margaret turned around so she could face her husband. "I, of course, told her that we'd always miss our little girl when she wasn't around."

"I still can't believe that she's already done with her freshman year of _college_." He laughed. "I keep thinking that she's still just a freshman in _high school_."

"Same here." After a few moments, they were both sound asleep.

**The Next Morning**

"Mommy! Daddy!" All four of the quadruplets came running into their parents room like they did every morning. They always came in at the same time and Hawkeye and Margaret were always ready for them.

"There you guys are!" Margaret hugged each of them as they jumped up onto the bed.

"I was wondering where my little monsters were." Hawkeye teased.

"I'm not a monster daddy!" Max laughed.

Maggie smiled mischievously. "You look like one though."

"She's yours." The children's mother looked at her husband, a smile pulling at the sides of her mouth.

"I would hope so." Hawkeye reached over and gave his wife a quick kiss.

"Mommy?" Danny looked up at his mother with curiosity in his eyes.

"What is it Honey?" She asked, knowing it had to be good. Whenever Danny said 'Mommy' in that tone of voice, a funny question always followed.

"I was wondering…how does the baby get in there?" When Danny voiced the question, putting a small hand on his mother's very rounded stomach, his brothers and sister nodded, wanting to know as well.

Margaret's eyes grew wide and looked over at Hawkeye who had a very funny look on his face, trying to hold his laughter back. "You want to handle this one Ben?" She laughed.

"Uh…well…that's something you three won't know for another ten years or so." He looked at his sons. "And you in about thirty," he chuckled, looking at his daughter. Margaret then gave him a playful swat on the shoulder.

"Oh…" The four looked a little disappointed, but soon snapped out of it.

"Are you guys hungry?" Margaret asked her children.

"Yes." Hawkeye replied, matching his daughter's look of mischief that she had awhile ago.

"Are you sure you cont?" His wife laughed. In response, he just stuck his tongue out at her, jokingly.

"Why don't you guys go wake up your sister." Margaret suggested.

"Okay!" With that, the four kids ran out of the room and up the stairs.

When they left, Hawkeye and Margaret laughed about their son's question. "I just can't wait to explain _that_ again." The mother to be said sarcastically. "You get to explain it to the boys."

"I think I probably had enough practice with Radar." The handsome man shrugged.

"BJ! BJ! BJ!" Maggie ran into her sister's bedroom and jumped up and down on the bed.

"Maggie, what are you doing?" BJ asked, pulling the pillow over her head a little tighter to block the noise.

"Mommy said to come wake you up for breakfast." The little girl laid down next to her sister. "Come on Beej!" Now she started tickling her.

"I'll get up, I'll get up. Jeesh, you're just like mom!" BJ laughed and grabbed her sister and started tickling her as well.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Maggie shrieked with laughter.

"What do you say?" BJ asked, laughing herself.

"You're the best sister ever in the history of the world." The girl recited the line, not knowing what it would really be. She was just trying to be a smart-aleck. But, like father like daughter.

"I was just gonna go for 'please', but that works too." BJ untangled herself from her sheets and picked her little sister up. "I love the pajamas." She told the little girl.

"Thank you." Maggie had on a very cute pair of summer pajamas with little horses all over them.

The two girls met their little brothers at the bottom of the stairs and went down the rest of the way to the kitchen.

"Hey sleepy heads." Daniel greeted his grandchildren.

"Hi Grandpa." They all said as they took their places at the table.

"Good to see this table full again." The grandfather smiled at his oldest granddaughter.

"Well, for once It's good to be the filler." BJ laughed.

The family sat down to have breakfast and talked, mainly about BJ and her college experiences.

"So, when do we go to Hannibal?" BJ asked her parents, not sure if they were still going or not.

"Well, we figured we'd go on the second." Margaret replied, eating the French toast that she and Hawkeye had made. "We'll only be there for a few days so hopefully we'll be back before this little bundle of joy decides to come." She laughed.

"Cool." BJ chuckled. She couldn't wait to see everyone again. "This time, _everyone_ will be there right?"

"Yep," Hawkeye nodded. "BJ said that Erin came home last week so she'll be there too."

"She was in Europe right?" The girl asked. "Lucky her…"

The parents laughed as they talked some more. Everyone was VERY happy to be with each other again.

**Next Chapter: It's off to Hannibal, MO to the Potter's place for the Fourth of July Reunion! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well and I hope that I'll have the next chapter up before long. Thanks for reading! (Remember: I like reviews!)**


	29. To Hannibal, MO

**Chapter 29**

**July 2, 1971**

Bright and early that morning, the Pierces all boarded the plane in Portland, Maine. Now they were somewhere over Pennsylvania. BJ, Daniel, and Hawkeye were trying to keep the kids entertained as Margaret slept. She was exhausted, being nine months pregnant. "Daddy?" Danny asked his father.

"Yeah?" Hawkeye replied, a little worried about what he would ask and if he would be able to answer it.

"What makes the plane fly?" He asked.

"Uh…" Hawkeye tried to think how he could answer that. "Well, it's quite easy actually…" He had no idea really. He knew it was something with drag and thrust and lift and all of that stuff that he should have been paying attention to in school.

"You haven't got a clue do you?" BJ laughed, leaning over to whisper in her father's ear.

"Not a one." He whispered back. "Well Danny, you see…before the plane takes off…they magnetize it."

"They what?" Maggie asked from where she sat by her sister.

"They magnetize it. That means that they make it so it will stick to metal." He explained.

"Oh, like the letters on the fridge?" Max asked.

"Exactly like that." The boys father nodded. "Well, after they magnetize the plane, they put another magnet on the ground and you know how if you have to magnets together and sometimes they push away from each other?" The four kids nodded while BJ tried to hold her laughter in. "Then they move the magnet on the ground all over the country and the plane follows."

"Really?" Henry asked, looking astonished.

"Yep. Sort of…" Hawkeye chuckled, amazed that his kids bought it. BJ put her hand over her mouth to try to stifle the laughter that was making its way out, uncontrollably.

After she was able to stop laughing, BJ leaned over to her father, "Nice one dad."

"Thank you." He grinned.

Margaret stirred a little but fell right back to sleep. She had been having 'flashback dreams' for awhile now and didn't know why. But, every time she fell asleep it was like she was going back in time and experiencing something that happened years ago.

_"Come on Maggie, push! You can do it!" Her sister, Susanne, was holding her hand and she squeezed it as more pain came._

_The twenty-three year old Margaret gave a little yelp._

_"Come on Margaret, you can do this." The doctor encouraged her. "One more push, you're almost there."_

_"Aghh!" She screamed as she gave her all into the final push._

_"That's it!" He gathered the small baby in his arms and showed the mother. "It's a girl." Margaret's smile was a mile wide as she tried to catch her breath. After the little girl was cleaned up, the doctor handed the small bundle to her._

_"Hi there." She spoke softly to her tiny daughter. "I'm your mommy." Margaret softly ran the back of her finger on the tiny cheek. She couldn't believe how much the little girl looked like her father, even now. She had the same nose and when she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that the eyes were the same bright blue as the man's she had fallen in love with in Korea, not too long ago. _

_"Maggie, she's adorable." Susanne cooed the little baby from where she stood by the bed._

_"She looks just like her father already…" The new mother's eyes became a little blurry as she started crying softly. _

_Her sister put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay Mags."_

_Margaret nodded. "What do you think about Beatrice?" She asked her sister. "It's her grandmother's name. Maybe…Beatrice Jane, after both of her grandmothers?"_

_"I think that sounds perfect." Susanne smiled._

_"Welcome to the world Beatrice." She brought her daughter up a little to kiss her on the forehead. "I promise that you'll meet your father someday. He'd be so proud of you…and I already am."_

_"Margaret…Margaret…" She looked up at her sister._

"Margaret." Hawkeye rubbed her arm. "Margaret."

"Yeah?" She opened her eyes, groggily, and was a little confused about why she was still pregnant until she woke up a little more and realized that it was just a dream.

"Are you okay?" Her husband asked, worry in his eyes.

"Of course, how come?"

"You were crying." He kissed the tears away that were still on her cheek. "Nightmare?"

Margaret chuckled a little, "No." She shook her head with a small smile.

"Well, we're about to land." He leaned over and fastened Henry's seatbelt. Daniel helped Max with his while BJ helped Maggie with hers, and Margaret helped Danny before they put theirs on.

**That Night**

It was about 10:00 at night and the Pierces had just arrived at the Potter home in Hannibal, Missouri. It was a VERY nice place, with a pretty big cream colored house, a big red barn, and a small guest house.

"Looks like everyone's out back." Margaret pointed out, speaking softly. The four small children had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car the family had rented in St. Louis. Since the front seat also had a bench seat, BJ sat up front with her parents.

"Looks like it." BJ also looked out the window and towards the back of the house where she could tell a camp fire was going on by the glow.

"Should we wake them up?" Hawkeye asked, looking back at his kids.

"Well, considering that they fell asleep as soon as we got on the road, and it's been a two and a half hour drive, I think they had a long enough nap to be up this late." Margaret also looked back at her kids. BJ opened the door and scooted out, helping her mother up as well. "Come on you guys…we're here." Their mother gently woke them up.

"Hmm?" They seemed to all mumble sleepily at the same time.

"We're here." Hawkeye had opened the door on the other side of the car, reached into the car and pulled the closest, half awake, child out. "Come on Henry. Wake up, we're here." He told the little boy that was now in his arms. Henry yawned and opened his eyes.

"Okay, I'm awake. Now what?" He asked, sounding very much like his mother when Hawkeye put him down on the grass.

"Help me wake up your brothers and sister." The boys father 'instructed'.

"WAKE UP!" Henry shook Max's shoulder. "WAKE UP!" He wasn't as gentle at waking his brother up as his mother was.

"I'm up, I'm up." Max then woke Maggie up and in a few minutes, all of the little kids were up and running about.

Their mother kind of went into 'Major Mode', grouped the four small children together, and gave them their 'orders'. "Okay you guys, I want you on your best behavior." Margaret looked at Maggie in particular, "Please don't be too much like your father while we're here okay?" She sent a teasing glance up to her husband.

"Okay Mommy." They all responded.

"Wait a minute, what's wrong with their father?" Hawkeye asked, pretending to be offended.

"Nothing Dear." Margaret gave him a quick kiss before closing the car door. They could take the bags in later.

"Okay, can I go and see my friends now…and Benji!?" BJ asked, impatiently.

"Oh, go ahead." Hawkeye laughed. "Just don't be too much like your mother!" He called, ducking a playful swing from his wife.

"I'll try not to." BJ ran for the backyard. "Heck howdy everybody!" Usually, the eighteen year old was shy around big groups, but not this big group. Her closest friends were the daughters and sons of her parents' colleagues and she felt very comfortable around these people.

"Well Beatrice Jane Pierce! Is that you?!" Everyone looked up as Sherman voiced the question, getting up to give the teenager a hug. "You look like a real college girl." He smiled.

"Thanks Doc." She smiled, "You're looking mighty good yourself." When she stepped away from the colonel, she was pretty much tackled. Benji had just jumped up and wrapped his arms around her. "BENJI!" She screamed excitedly.

"Oh BJ! I've missed you so much!" He hugged her tightly.

"I've missed you too." She giggled happily as she hugged him back.

"BJ!" Erin got up from her spot by the fire and ran over to the girl she hadn't seen in over a year.

"Erin!" The Pierce girl let go of her boyfriend and hugged one of her best friends. "It's so good to see you again!" Her voice was a little higher from all of the excitement.

"You too!" The older girl pulled away a little. "So…how was Iowa? I hear your roommate was Katie!"

"Yeah, that was awesome. The classes are going really well too." She nodded. "So, how was Europe?"

"It was great. Best time of my life." Erin smiled. "Well, come on…everyone's waiting to see you!" The two girls and Benji headed towards where all of the teens were sitting by the big fire.

"Hello everyone!" Margaret called as she walked into view holding Maggie's and Henry's hand.

"Hello hello hello!" Hawkeye also called to the crowd.

Everyone greeted the newcomers as they came into the glow of the fire. Once Margaret came into view, the Potters, O'Reilys, and Erin all had surprised looks on their faces.

"BJ…you're mom is…" Johnny O'Reily leaned over to the girl he was sitting across from.

"Pregnant?" She laughed. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"Well Margaret!" Colonel Potter stood up again and gave his former head nurse a hug.

"Hello Colonel." The expecting mother hugged back.

"Would I be presumptuous to say that this was your Christmas surprise that we missed out on?" Mildred asked, joining her husband.

"No Mrs. Potter. This was the surprise." She laughed and placed a loving hand on her very rounded stomach.

"Well congratulations you two." Sherman shook Hawkeye's free hand.

"Thank you Sherm." Hawkeye grinned and looked at his children. "You guys are pretty excited to have a little brother or sister aren't you?" Danny shyly nodded and smiled from where he was sitting in his father's arms.

"Well I bet you are." Mildred shook the boy's hand. "Franklin right?" She asked the father.

"Yeah…we call him Danny now though." Hawkeye smiled proudly.

"And Henry." She bent down to shake his hand. "And Max right?" Max nodded and extended his hand to be shaken by the old woman. She laughed and playfully messed up his hair. "And this just has to be little Maggie!"

"Hi Mrs. Potter." Maggie smiled.

Mildred chuckled, "You know you can call me Mildred."

"Oh yeah. I always forget that." The little girl replied sweetly.

"Margaret you have wonderful children." She glanced over in BJ's direction. "I can't believe that that sweet little girl you brought here all those years ago is her! She looked just like this little lady here." She patted Maggie on the head.

"Well thank you Mildred and I know…don't they just grow up way too fast?" The proud mother shook her head in amazement.

"They always do." The hostess replied. "But…you must be exhausted and you should really be off your feet." Mildred linked arms with Margaret and lead her over to a vacant chair.

"Thank you. I really do feel a bit warn out after all that traveling." She replied, taking a well deserved seat. Hawkeye and the kids had followed and the kids were now over by the teenagers.

"How was your trip, by the way?" Charles asked after everyone had said hello and commented Margaret on how good she looked.

"Long." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Especially with four little kids. BJ wasn't a problem though, she had her nose in a book all day it seemed like." Margaret added.

"I always forget, how long of a drive was it from St. Louis to here?" Colonel Potter asked.

"Two and a half hours." BJ called from where she sat in Benji's arms. Hawkeye saw, but wasn't going to say anything since they hadn't seen each other in a very long time.

"Good ears Radar!" BJ teased his 'nick-name sake'.

"Thank you!" She laughed, looking over at Radar who was also laughing at the comment.

"Wow, two and a half hours in a car with four, well sort of five, kids!" Peg looked amazed.

"Luckily the little ones went to sleep right away and stayed asleep." Margaret laughed, knowing what she must have been thinking.

"Well, I'm surprised you came in your condition." Radar stated nervously.

"How come?" The expecting mother replied, knowing perfectly well why.

"Don't take this the wrong way Major, but you look like you're nine months along." The former company clerk shrugged and seemed to bury himself into the chair he was sitting in.

"Probably because I am nine moths along." Margaret chuckled. "But, I have a doctor with me almost 24/7, so I think I'm probably alright…Plus my due date isn't until the end of the month anyway." The group went on talking for about an hour before people started heading off to bed. The Potters had a few guest rooms, since their children had grow up and moved out, and a small guest house farther out in their huge back yard. It was a sort of tight squeeze, but everyone fit. The teenagers, again (and on the hottest few days of the summer) slept in tents by the guest house. The girls had the big red one on the left side of the house and the boys had the smaller blue one on the right.

"Hey, Erin?" BJ poked her friend laying beside her.

"Yeah?" She asked, still wide awake.

"Will you take this to your brother?" The Pierce girl handed her a piece of paper.

"I'm guessing Benji?" Erin asked sarcastically.

"Yeah." She chuckled.

"Okay, I'll be right back." And with that, Erin carefully stepped over everyone in the tent and snuck by the guest house and into the boys tent to give Benji the little piece of paper.

**Well, what does the note say!? I guess you'll just have to find out when I post the next chapter! Sorry it took so long to post, I kept getting side tracked and then writer's block and everything else that's inconvenient! But, I hope you half-way liked this chapter. The next few will be better, I promise!**

**So, I have also decided against a prequel (with the help of Coasttocoast-thanks!) I think she had a very good point by saying that it would lessen the impact that this story is making. I have to agree with her there. So, I've decided that I'll add a few flash backs in once in a while for the things that I would have put in the prequel.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you'll like what's coming up! Tell me what you think! **


	30. Fourth Of July in Hannibal

**Chapter 30**

"Benji." Erin whispered through the tent screen.

"Yeah?" He replied, the boys still wide awake.

"BJ wanted me to give this to you." She unzipped the screen a little and stuck her hand through to give the note to her brother.

"Thanks." Benji quickly turned his flashlight on and read the note.

_Benji,  
__Meet me behind the barn at 2:00.  
__Bring your flashlight.  
__BJ_

He quickly grabbed a pencil from the pocket of his shorts and scribbled a note in response on the back of the original piece of paper. "Here, give this back to BJ." He handed it back to his sister.

"Will do. Nighty night." With that, Erin quickly snuck back over to the girls' tent. "Here Beej."

"Thanks." The girl took her own flashlight and read the note, a smile spreading across her face.

"What does it say BJ?" Kimmie asked.

"_BJ- I'll be counting the minutes 'till two and I am anxiously waiting to wrap my arms around you and give you the kiss I've wanted to for over a year. -Always yours, Benji._"

"Awww!" The other girls all thought it was very sweet. Erin was surprised that her brother could be that nice.

"What time is it now?" Katie asked.

"1:45." BJ shone her flashlight on her watch. She anxiously waited another fifteen minutes before she slipped her shoes and robe on and snuck out behind the barn. She found a bench to sit on, shut off her flashlight and stared at the stars, looked out over the hill that the Potter's property was on, and felt like she could see forever in the bright moon light. (They lived about five miles out of the Hannibal 'city limits') She was so absorbed in the scenery that she jumped when she felt the bench move a little as someone sat down.

Their eyes were already adjusted to the dark so they didn't need their flashlights. Benji could see that he had surprised her. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Quite alright." BJ smiled as she scooted over closer. Benji opened his arms for her to lean into.

"I've missed you a ton." He bent down and kissed her ear.

"I missed you too." She looked up into his bright green eyes and softly laughed. "I didn't get my New Years kiss this year."

"I know. You should have seen me that night. I was moping around your house and my dad kept asking me what was wrong. I think he knew though." He shrugged and flipped his shaggy blonde-ish hair back when it fell into his eyes.

"I think I know what might make it better." BJ smiled mischievously.

"Hmm…what's that?" Benji asked, leaning down a little.

"This." She leaned up as much as she could and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met for one of the best kisses they had ever shared.

About three minutes later, they pulled away a little breathless. "BJ." Benji said her name softly. She looked at him with a small smile, wondering what he was going to say. "I love you."

She thought her heart was going to melt. Even though they had been 'dating' (officially) since they were sixteen, they hadn't told each other how they really felt. "I love you too." BJ replied, whispering. The moonlight was shinning off her eyes and the wind brushed over the scenery. There was a long patch of silence that was broken by Benji's small laugh. "What's so funny?" She asked, looking up at him.

"I was just thinking, I'm not really sure who has the best view…The Potters or you guys. This 'miles of nothing' is kinda cool."

"Oh, trust me, if you were to spend a year in Iowa and then go with Katie to visit her family in Ottumwa over spring break because you don't have enough money to go home, you would think the 'miles of nothing' would get kind of boring!" BJ laughed. "At least Crabapple Cove has the ocean!"

After about an hour of sitting in each other's arms and talking about their future (maybe with each other), BJ looked at her watch in the moonlight. "It's getting pretty late. We should probably go back."

"Yeah…I guess." Benji replied, a little reluctantly.

The girl with the shiny black hair stood up, pulled her light, summer robe a little tighter and bent down to kiss Benji before she tiptoed back to the tent. Before she had even unzipped the screen however, she was bombarded with questions about the hour and a half behind the barn. She told them everything and at about 4:00, rolled over and fell asleep.

"_Hey Mommy?" Five-year-old Beatrice Jane Houlihan was laying in her brand new 'big girl bed'._

"_What is it Sweetheart?" Margaret asked from where she stood by the door, ready to shut the light off so her daughter could go to sleep._

"_Will you tell me a bedtime story?" She asked sweetly._

"_I guess I could do that." Her mother went over to the bed and laid down by her. "Which one do you want to hear?" Margaret asked as she propped herself up on her elbow._

"_How about one from when you were at that hospital?" Beatrice smiled._

"_You mean the one I worked at during the war?" She asked, a little surprised._

"_Yeah, with Colonel Potter." The little girl heard a few well chosen stories about the 4077__th__ when they had visited the Potters, almost year ago._

"_I guess I could tell you a story about that place." Margaret nodded, trying to think of something. "Okay, well lay back." She gently pushed her daughter back so she would be laying down. "There once was a beautiful, young, blonde nurse named…Darlene." She knew exactly what story she would tell Beatrice. "And a very handsome, dark haired doctor named…Hank. Well, one day Hank and Darlene had to go to an Aid Station to help out-"_

"_Mommy, what's an aid station?" The little girl asked._

"_It's kind of like a place where you get a band aid and stuff like that when you're hurt." She tried to explain it in terms that wouldn't scare the five year old, or bring back bad memories for the mother trying to tell the story._

"_Oh, you mean like the 'Health Hut' at the water park?" Beatrice asked._

"_Yeah, something like that." Margaret laughed. "But anyway, Hank and Darlene, and a man with a big nose, who people called Klinger, had to go to the Aid Station to help out. Well, the beautiful nurse and your fath-" she cleared her throat before accidentally called 'Hank' the girl's father, "Hank, and Klinger…worked all day long, helping all of the wounded soldiers with the sound of thunder roaring behind them all the time." She didn't exactly want to say that the 'thunder' was live artillery._

"_Thunder?" The small five year old asked, a little scared._

"_Thunder." Margaret repeated, but smiled. "Oh, don't worry about it though, like I told you: it's just the angels bowling."_

"_Okay." She nodded, relieved._

"_Well, after a long, long time of working, the three tired people were able to be done for the day and try to get some sleep." The young mother noticed that her daughter's eyelids were started to droop. "But Darlene was scared that bad people might be out there. She asked Hank if there would be any snipers anywhere and he said that there probably would be. So, Darlene was even more scared. Hank realized this and, being the kind, gentle, and all around good man that he was…is…scooted over closer to Darlene and put his blanket over him to comfort her."_

"_Did it work?" She asked._

"_Yep. Darlene felt like nothing could get to her anymore since Hank was protecting her. And from that point on…Darlene was madly in love with Hank." Margaret started whispering softer and softer since she thought that Beatrice was asleep. "Goodnight Beatrice." She carefully pulled her arm out from under her daughter's head and leaned over her to kiss her on the forehead and tuck her in._

"_Goodnight Mommy." Beatrice replied when her mom shut the light off._

"_I love you." Margaret told her before shutting the door a little. She left it open enough for the hall light to shine through._

"BJ!…BJ!" Honoria was shaking her best friend a little to try to wake her up.

"What time is it?" She asked groggily.

"9:00. Breakfast is almost ready. Your mom told me to come wake you up." BJ's former enemy and now one of her best friends, threw her bag at her. "Come on, get dressed!"

"Fine! I'm up! Jeez!" She got up and put her shorts and a different shirt on. All the while, a thought was racing through her head. _'Hank and Darlene, Hank and Darlene… Mom and Dad…?' _She'd have to ask. BJ couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before, but it all seemed to fit! The girl had almost forgotten about those stories her mother used to tell her, but thanks to the dream she had had, all of them were coming back to her. And a lot of them, she had heard from her parents' friends at the reunions…with _their _names!

**Fourth of July**

Yesterday was spent catching up with everyone and just sitting around, talking and laughing the whole day. The teenagers however got to go to the little mall down town together and had a lot of fun shopping. Now, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon on the Fourth of July and Benji, BJ and her little brothers and sister, Hawkeye, and Colonel Potter were in the barn by the Potters' four horses. They were really Sherman and Mildred's daughter's, but they couldn't have them at their house since they lived in town.

"Well, they're all very nice horses. Which ones would you guys like to ride?" Sherman asked the four little kids. They all wore tiny little cowboy boots that were only a little bit bigger than the ones the Potters had given their mother for her baby shower before they were even born.

"I want that one!" Maggie pointed to the grey horse. He was smaller than the others and looked a lot older.

"Good choice. Willy here is probably the nicest out of the bunch." He chuckled, "Oldest too."

"Your helmet on tight?" Hawkeye crouched down beside his youngest daughter. She nodded but he checked anyway. "Okay, upsy daisy" He picked her up and set her on the pony. "Now hold on."

"I will." The little girl was VERY excited. Her father stood right beside her, even though he was sure she wouldn't fall off when they were standing still.

"What about you Henry?" Sherman asked the next boy in the group.

"I like that one." He pointed to the tallest horse.

"That's Snowfire." The former colonel laughed. "She's a tall girl isn't she?"

"Yeah." Henry gazed up at the horse in eager amazement. After Colonel Potter checked his helmet, he set him up onto the horse. "Whoa, this is high."

"You'll be fine, just keep a hold of the saddle horn." The kind old man pointed to the part of the saddle that the boy should hold on to.

"Okay Max, Danny…which ones do you want to go on?" BJ kneeled down to her brothers' height.

"I want the black one." Danny pointed.

"No, _I_ want the black one!" Max retorted.

"Guys!" BJ wanted to end their fighting before one of them started crying. "You can both ride the black one if you want. Danny could ride it for awhile," she looked at Max, "and then Max could ride it for awhile," she then looked at Danny. "What do you say?"

"I guess…" they replied, a little disappointed.

"Okay." She checked Danny's helmet and set him on the big black horse, who's name was Black Magic.

"Okay Max, here you go." Benji put the last little boy on the other, brown, horse. She was named after Sophie.

"Hold on tight everyone." Hawkeye told his kids before the 'adults' lead the horses slowly around the house a few times. The four little kids were just having a blast. Max and Danny switched every two laps around the house and didn't fight any more which horse they got to ride.

When they went back to the barn, they reluctantly climbed down (with a lot of help). They quickly ran to where the former members of the 4077th and their families were. "Mommy! Mommy! Did you see us?!" They all asked in unison, running up to the chair she was sitting in, talking to Peg Hunnicutt.

"Of course I did. You guys were amazing!" Margaret smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen better riding." She chuckled. "So, was it fun?"

"YEAH!" Again, they all chorused their answer.

"Mommy, can we get at least _one_ horse?" Danny asked, using his big sister's puppy dog eyes. It worked a little better for him than it did for BJ anymore.

"No, I'm afraid not." Their mother shook her head.

"Why not?" Henry asked, also using the puppy dog eyes.

"Because we don't have any room for them." She replied, trying to resist their eyes.

They kept 'pestering' her about the horse subject before Sherman came up with Hawkeye to the group. "Howdy ya'll!" Hawkeye called.

"Heck howdy partner!" BJ Hunnicutt laughed.

"So, I was wondering if maybe the older kids would like to ride?" The older man asked, looking at the faces of the teenagers, who were now quite pleased.

"Sure!" They replied.

"Well, you'll have to split up! There's four horses and eight of you." He laughed as they all got up and headed to the barn. BJ, Benji, Charlie, and Honoria sat down again and let Johnny, Katie, Kimmie, and Erin go ride first. While they waited for the others to come back, the four that stayed talked with their parents and the others at the reunion.

"Hey mom?" BJ looked up at her mother.

"Yeah?" Margaret looked down beside her chair where BJ and the quadruplets were sitting.

"I meant to ask you yesterday but, remember those Darlene and Hank stories you used to tell me?" She started.

"I'm surprised _you_ remember. That was a _long_ time ago." Margaret nodded, smiling.

"Well, were you Darlene and was Dad Hank?" She asked.

After a moment, her mother nodded. "How did you figure that out?"

"I had a dream about the time you were telling me about 'Hank and Darlene's Adventure to the Aid Station' last night and I remembered that I had heard that, and a bunch of other 'Hank and Darlene' stories that were the same as the stories they were telling at other get-togethers. It just sort of hit me." BJ shrugged.

"Yeah…" Margaret nodded, reminiscing. "I guess I haven't told you the story about _why_ 'Hank' is your father and 'Darlene' is your mother huh?"

"Okay, well you don't have to tell me _that_ story! I know how that goes! 'When two people love each other very much' yadda yadda yadda!" She did NOT want to hear that 'story' again…at all.

"I meant the names, Smarty Pants." Margaret laughed.

"Oh, okay. What's the story behind the names?" She asked.

"Well, one day your father and I were sent to the 8063rd…" and with that, Margaret told her daughter the whole story (with a couple exceptions on the subject of what happened in the hut that night).

About twenty minutes after Margaret was done telling her daughter the story, the kids that were on the horses came back and it was Charlie's, Benji's, Honoria's, and BJ's. It had been ages since BJ had gone riding. She used to go a lot with Janie at her (Janie's) grandparents' ranch in western Massachusetts, but hadn't gone since she moved to Maine. And boy did she miss it.

"So what's the trail Colonel?" Benji asked, riding on Black Majic. BJ and Honoria came trotting along on Snowfire and Sophie Junior. Charlie came up behind his brother on Willy.

"You can go anywhere on the gravel road, just don't go into town. Or out of state." The old cowboy laughed.

"Aww." Honoria snapped her finger in mock disappointment.

"Have fun!" The adults called from where they sat in the middle of the back yard. The four teenagers waved and were on their way, down the gravel road.

"So, what was that story you were telling BJ earlier?" Hawkeye asked his wife when the teenagers were down the road.

"Well, when she was little I used to tell her stories about 'Hank and Darlene'." She started explaining. Her husband smiled and nodded, knowing what the stories must have been about. "She figured out that it was you and I, and I just told her why I picked those names to signify us in the stories."

"The letters?" He asked.

"The letters." Margaret nodded.

"So Margaret, have you two thought of any names yet?" Patty O'Reily asked.

"Sort of." The mother to be chuckled. "We're kind of thinking about Kelly if it's a girl and Charles if it's a boy."

"Of course we'd call him Charlie, Charles is just way to stuffy." Hawkeye teased his former comrade.

"Ferret." Charles couldn't think of anything to call the man and called him the first thing that came into mind.

"You know, speaking of ferrets, has anyone heard anything from old Ferret Face?" BJ Hunnicutt asked.

"Thankfully no." Radar sighed with relief.

"Neither have I." Margaret shook her head, smiling with mischief, looking up at Hawkeye.

"Well out of all the people that could have heard from him, I thought you would be one of them." Klinger replied, laughing.

"Hey now." She replied, a well practiced look of anger on her face, but a smile pulled on the edges of her mouth and made it hard to believe the 'angered' look.

"What about Trapper?" Radar asked Hawkeye. "Have you seen or heard from him?"

"I haven't heard from him since the day I left for R&R almost 20 years ago." The handsome man shook his head sadly.

**8:00 That Night**

"So, if the fireworks don't start until ten, why do we have to go now?" Charlie asked from where he was riding with Benji and BJ in the backseat of his parents' rental car.

"It probably gets really busy. We want a good spot don't we?" Peg laughed.

"But, isn't the show in the air?" Her husband asked, wittily.

"Good point Dad." Benji laughed.

"So, do we get to go to the carnival?" The Pierce girl asked.

"Oh, I don't see why not." BJ shrugged. "It's right across the street."

There was a TON of traffic in the small town since everyone was already heading to the shore of the Mississippi river. The fireworks would actually be launched from the Illinois side of the river, but there was a big carnival on the Missouri side.

A half an hour of stop and go traffic later, and all of the Potters' guests were at the carnival, playing the games and riding the few small rides, while Daniel and Sherman saved quite a few spots by the shore for when the fireworks would start.

"BJ." Benji had walked up behind his girlfriend, a giant teddy bear in hand.

"Yeah?" BJ asked, turning around. When she saw the huge pink fur ball, her eyes got huge. "What is _that_?!" She laughed.

"Uh, I think it's a bear. But, whatever it is, I threw a football through a tire a few times and got it for you." Benji chuckled as he handed it to her.

"Thanks!" BJ smiled, kissing him on the lips. She pulled away rather quickly, however, when her father came by with Maggie (carrying a stuffed Dalmatian that was bigger than she was) on his shoulders and cleared his throat. The two teenagers smiled sheepishly as they scurried away to another one of the games.

"Oh Ben, they're just like we were near the end of the war." Margaret came by, carrying Henry on her hip and holding Max's hand. Danny was with his grandfather and Colonel Potter, helping to save spots and probably asking them a million questions.

"Oh God, don't say that! That's what scares me." Hawkeye winked.

"Okay, hopefully their not _just_ like we were, but you know what I mean." She knew what he was talking about and, in actuality their first daughter was the outcome of 'what they were like' during the end of the war.

"Honey, you shouldn't be carrying him like that now." He said with concern, swinging Maggie and the Dalmatian down to the ground from his shoulders. Hawkeye just noticed that Henry was resting his head on his wife's shoulder.

"I'm fine Hawk." She laughed. "You worry too much."

"I just love you two, too much." He winked, kissing her quick and laying a loving hand on the 'baby bump'. "So, what do you guys want to do now?" He asked the kids.

"Ride the fishies." Maggie exclaimed excitedly.

"What about you two?" Hawkeye asked his two sons as well.

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Well, let's go." And with that, the five went over to the fish ride on the other side of the parking lot. (The carnival was in the parking lot of the grocery store that was closed for the holiday)

**Six Stuffed Animals and Five Rides on the 'Fishies' Later**

"Whoa!" Maggie and Danny looked up at the sky in amazement as a big firework went off over the river. Max and Henry were hiding under their blankets (the ones that BJ and Janie had made) on their parents laps. It was hot out, but the blankets that they seldom put down, comforted them when they were scared. The two boys were like their mother and didn't really like loud noises. Margaret however was trying to put a brave face on for her kids and was actually really enjoying the fireworks.

Benji looked behind his shoulder at the adults. The teenagers were sitting with their feet dangling over the sidewalk that 'lined' the Mississippi in Hannibal. They were all looking up, so he leaned over to BJ. "Hey," he whispered, "remember when we were _going_ to have that kiss on the Fourth of July but you backed out since you had told your dad you wouldn't kiss anyone 'till you were married?"

"Yeah. I remember." The girl laughed.

"No one's looking." He gave a mischievous smile.

BJ looked back at the adults for herself before she leaned in to kiss him. There were fireworks, but in both ways this time.

**Well, that's it for that chapter, but don't worry. MORE ON THE WAY! Tell me what you thought. Sorry it took so long for me to update. As you can tell, this chapter's pretty long compared to some of them! (I didn't really want to give you two short chapters, so I combined them) Thanks for being so patient! 'Till the next update…**


	31. Charlotte Mildred Pierce

**Chapter 31**

**11:59 p.m. Fourth of July**

"Well at least we made it back before midnight." Honoria laughed, looking down at her watch. There seemed to be more traffic, leaving the fireworks show, than there was going to it.

"Barely." BJ laughed.

"The rain held off until the fireworks ended...that's good." Kimmie closed the umbrella that the three girls were walking under before they walked into the house. "Kind of makes our sparkler planes impossible though."

"You guys can sleep in here tonight." Mildred told the kids that would, otherwise, be sleeping out in the tents. The rain was light now, but it was sure to pick up later.

"That'd be good." Johnny laughed. "Remember what happened the last time it rained when we were in the tent…" He looked over at Charlie.

"Hey! Benji told me nothing would happen if I touched the canvas!" Charlie elbowed his laughing brother.

"You were _fifteen_ years old and you didn't _know_ that by then!? I thought Dad told you too!" Benji retorted.

"Come on, we'll help you bring your stuff in." Hawkeye and his best friend headed out the back door while Margaret and Daniel put the sleeping quadruplets to bed.

Twenty minutes later, all of the sleeping bags, pillows, and other stuff were in the living room and the teens were getting ready to go to bed. The three boys had the corner by the TV and the girls pretty much took over the rest of the room.

**Two Hours Later**

"You alright?" Hawkeye asked his wife who was sitting up in bed.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. My back just hurts like hell." She tried to sit up a little straighter. "This girl is really getting heavy." She chuckled.

"What makes you so sure it'll be a girl?" Hawkeye sat up and put his arm around Margaret's shoulder.

"I just know." She grinned.

"Oh yeah? How do you know it won't be a boy?" He put his hand on Margaret's stomach and was greeted with a kick from his son or daughter.

"Do I smell a bet?" She asked, laughing.

"Okay, I bet it'll be a boy." He kissed his wife on the cheek.

"And I bet it'll be a girl." She leaned into his arms.

"So, what are the stakes?" Hawkeye asked, motioning for Margaret to face her back towards him so he could rub it to make it feel better.

"Well…If I win, you have to change all of _her_ diapers for a month."

"And if I win?"

"Then you get breakfast in bed for a week." She laughed.

"A _week_?! I'd have to change diapers for a _month_." He 'protested'.

"Okay, two weeks. You know, making breakfast takes a lot longer than changing a diaper."

"Two weeks it is." Hawkeye nodded. "Shake on it." He held his hand out and Margaret shook it. When her hand was trapped in his, he raised it up and kissed it.

After awhile, Margaret laid down and sighed, "She's moving a lot tonight."

Hawkeye kissed her on the neck before she scooted closer to him and fell asleep.

_"Mommy?" Beatrice just walked into the kitchen where Margaret was making supper. The girl's mother had been watching her and her friend through the window as they swung on the swing set. Beatrice was about five years old and her pitch black hair was in two braids tied off at the ends with small red bows, one on each side of her head._

_"What is it honey?" Margaret knelt down to the little girl's height after she turned the stove down._

_"Janie and I were talking about some stuff and I was just wondering…she has a daddy and it seems like all of my other friends do too…but, why don't I?"_

_Her mother's heart sank. She knew she would have to answer this question someday. She tried to think of something, but nothing seemed right to tell the little girl. "Well Sweetie, you see…sometimes the stork gets really tired when it's on its way to deliver a baby. Sometimes they have to stop short and I was lucky enough to catch you." She'd buy it for awhile._

_"Really?" The little girl asked._

_"Yep. And boy, am I ever glad I was there." She gave her daughter an Eskimo kiss before picking her up. "Come on, why don't you go back out and play with Janie."_

_"Okay." Beatrice nodded before her mother put her down by the sand box._

_"Would you two like some juice before supper?" Margaret asked the two little girls._

_"Yeah." They both nodded. _

_"I'll go get you some." She smiled before going back into the house. She went to the cupboard for glasses and then to the fridge, her vision becoming foggy. Margaret reached up to dry the tears, but they were coming too fast. When her tears were dried enough to not look suspicious, she ran the juice out to the little girls and came back into the kitchen. 'Why the hell don't you just tell the man that he has a daughter?!' She wondered. 'That's it. I need to do this…' Margaret went over to the phone and got the operator to tell her Hawkeye's number. She dialed the number after a few minutes and it rang twice before she hung up. 'I can't do it like this. I can't tell the love of my life that he has a daughter over the phone!'_

Margaret woke up with a gasp. "Hawkeye!" She shook him awake. "Ben!"

"What, what is it?" He woke up from a deep sleep with wide eyes.

"I think we might have a little problem." She was breathing hard and looked like she was in some pain.

"Margaret, what is it? Are you alright?"

"My water just broke…"

"Seriously?" Hawkeye asked, looking very worried.

"No, I just felt like waking you up! Of course I'm serious." She snapped. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Margaret grabbed his hand as a huge wave of pain hit. "Were there any pains before?"

"Not that I know of." She shook her head.

"Well come on, we need to get you to the hospital right away." He tried to keep calm as he threw a few of Margaret's things into her bag and helped her out of bed. It had only been a couple minutes, but the pains were coming fast. "Do you think we can make it?" Hawkeye asked.

"I don't know." Margaret shrugged, crying a little. Hawkeye helped his wife down the stairs and into the car. Before he opened the door for her, Margaret asked her husband, "Do you know where the hospital is?" The pain had subsided a little.

"No. Damn it." He opened the back door for her and helped her in out of the rain that had picked up a little. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be here."

Hawkeye sprinted through the house and up to the Potters' bedroom door. "Colonel!" He knocked.

"What is it Pierce?" Sherman answered the door in his pajamas, knowing that he wouldn't be knocking if it wasn't serious.

"I need directions to the hospital, fast." He said, sounding like he was in a hurry...hewas.

"Is it Margaret?" The old man asked, putting on his robe and putting his slippers on.

"Yeah, she went into labor a few minutes ago." The two men started down the stairs and out to the car.

"I'll drive." Sherman got in the driver's seat and Hawkeye got in the backseat with his wife who was going through another contraction.

**Five Minutes Later: Back at the Potter Home**

"BJ." Maggie shook her big sister who was sleeping on the floor between Honoria and Kimmie in the living room. "BJ."

"What?" She asked, still half asleep.

"It's thundering…Can I sleep down here with you?" The little girl didn't wait for an answer, she just snuggled up next to her sister with her blanket.

"It won't hurt you." BJ burrowed a little more into her pillow.

"Mommy gets a little scared when it thunders too." She pointed out.

"That's because she's over sensitive to loud noises." The girl's big sister told her.

"Well maybe I'm over sent-able-ated too." She tried to pronounce the 'big' word.

BJ laughed at her sisters pronunciation when a thought hit her. "Wait a minute…why didn't you go to Mom and Dad's bed?"

"They're not here."

"They aren't?" Before she could think about anything else, BJ fell asleep.

**Back in the Car**

"Agh!" Margaret screamed.

"You okay?" Hawkeye asked, squeezing her knee in affection. Her scream was at the same time as a very loud thunder clap and didn't know if it had startled her or if it was the pain.

"I don't think it can wait much longer." She squeezed her husbands hand tightly.

"Come on Margaret, breathe." He gently messaged her shoulders.

Colonel Potter was driving the car pretty fast but had to slow down considerably and then came to a complete stop. "Oh hell." He hit the steering wheel.

"What is it?" Hawkeye asked, realizing that they had stopped.

"The train." He pointed out the window at the cross bars, their lights were flashing.

"Oh God." Margaret was in a LOT of pain now.

"I don't know how long that train is, but it could be awhile." The older man turned around to look to the back seat.

"Ben!" The woman screamed.

"What?"

"I don't think it can wait any longer. I think it's coming…NOW!"

"Here, lay down." Her husband helped her lay down in the back seat and Sherman turned the dome light on when he put the car in park. The thunder and lightning were picking up as well as all of the rain. The sound of the rain pounded on the car. "Colonel, do me a favor and grab my medical bag from the trunk, will ya?"

"Be right back." Sherman got out and opened the trunk. There were a few towels, a couple pillows that the kids were using on the trip over to the small town, and a couple of the stuffed animals that were won at the carnival. He finally found the bag and grabbed it. Before he closed the trunk, he also grabbed the towels and pillows and got back into the car. "Here you go." He handed the small black bag to the surgeon.

"Thanks." Looking back to his wife, he put her feet on his shoulders and checked Margaret's progress. In an excited but concerned tone, he told her, "Okay honey, the head's right there. Push at the next contraction okay?"

Margaret nodded and laid back. Sherman put one of the pillows under her head and pushed the hair out of her eyes. "You're doing fine Major." He winked.

"Thanks." She smiled, her eyes showing her fear of having to give birth in the backseat of a car in the middle of a big thunderstorm. At least the rain was cooling the air down and dropping the humidity a little. "Aghh!" Margaret screamed as the pain came again. She grabbed the former CO's offered hand and pushed.

"Doing great!" Her husband rubbed her leg a little, feeling guilty that he couldn't do more for her for the pain. "Little more!"

"I don't think I can do this!"

"Where's that tough major I fell in love with who could do anything?" Hawkeye asked, smiling up at her with mischief in his eyes.

"That was twenty years and five kids ago!" She laid back and tried to relax a little. Colonel Potter chuckled.

As each wave of pain came, Margaret pushed as hard as she could and about twenty minutes later, the head appeared. "Okay Margaret, here's the head! Just a couple more pushes." Hawkeye helped guide his child out.

"Breathe Margaret. You can do it." The retired colonel stroked her hair.

"I'm trying!" She nodded, her voice strained.

"Okay honey, push!" Hawkeye looked up at his wife, "I want to see if I won the bet!" He joked.

"Aghhh!" She pushed with all her might, screaming from the pain.

"Here we go! You did it!" Hawkeye gathered his child in a towel and cleaned the little baby off as good as he could.

"What is it?" Sherman asked.

"Well, Margaret won the bet. It's a girl." He tried to sound disappointed, but couldn't hide his excitement. He couldn't believe that he had just delivered his own baby and had another daughter. Within moments the little girl gave a good healthy cry to clear out her lungs. Luckily, being a doctor, Hawkeye had all the instruments in his bag that he would need. He clamped off the umbilical cord, cut it, and put his baby girl in a clean towel. "Here you go." Margaret accepted the little bundle of joy eagerly awaiting to hold her.

"Hey girly." She was still a little breathless as her new daughter snuggled up to her. "You came a little quicker than I would've thought." Margaret chuckled a little as she ran a soft, gentle finger over the baby's face.

Hawkeye cleaned everything up as good as he could and went around to the other side of the car to sit behind his wife. "Congratulations you two, she's absolutely adorable." Sherman smiled. He then dug in the pocket of his robe and pulled out a cigar and gave it to Hawkeye.

"Thanks Colonel." Hawkeye laughed sticking it in his pocket.

"What are we going to name this little girl?" Margaret asked, tears of joy in her eyes. "She doesn't much look like a Kelly." She studied her daughter's face.

"Well, we were going to name her Charles if she was a boy…what about…" The proud father thought for a moment, "Charlotte?"

"Charlotte…I like that." She nodded. "Charlotte…Charlotte…Charlotte Mildred?" Margaret turned around a little to see what Hawkeye thought. He was smiling and nodded. "Welcome to the world Charlotte." She brought the little bundle up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good name." Sherman nodded in approval. He looked through the windshield, "Well, it looks like the storm blew over and the train moved on. What do you say we get to hospital to get that little lady checked out?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Hawkeye put an arm around the two girls, an overwhelming sense of pride rushing over him. About a half an hour later, they checked Margaret and Charlotte into the hospital and Hawkeye called his father bright and early in the morning.

**July Fifth - 8:00 a.m.**

The three Pierce boys came down the steps and woke everyone up, like Daniel told them too. "Wake up everybody!" Max yelled to the crowd of sleeping teenagers and Maggie. The adults came down and were getting their morning coffee in the kitchen and had a 'show' to watch as well. They laughed as the teenagers did everything they could to stay asleep while Maggie joined her brothers to help. When everyone was finally up, Daniel motioned for the group to gather in the living room…he had an announcement.

"So what is it Daniel?" BJ Hunnicutt asked from where he sat on the couch, Peg in his arms.

"Well Mr. Impatient," he sent a teasing glance to his son's best friend, "I just thought that I'd tell everyone my really big news." He smiled, building the suspense.

"Come on! What is it?" BJ asked her grandfather.

"Okay okay!" He laughed, "Well, you might have heard some ruckus last night. I know I did, I was just too lazy to get up and see what it was." When he saw that everyone had expectant looks on their faces, he continued, "That ruckus was my son and daughter-in-law and my good friend Sherman Potter, making a mad dash to the hospital."

Seeing that her grandfather was smiling, BJ knew it was good news. "Did Mom have the baby?!" She asked.

"Yes she did! You guys," he looked at his grandchildren, "have a brand new baby sister and I have a brand new granddaughter!"

Danny, Max, and Henry looked a little disappointed that the new baby was a girl, but Maggie and BJ were thrilled. "We have a baby sister!" BJ hugged her little sister to her.

"Well congratulations you guys!" Patty O'Reily told the family.

"The kid got a name?" Benji asked, laughing.

"Yes she does. Charlotte Mildred Pierce." The old man looked at his hostess to see her reaction. She was smiling ear to ear. Charles also had a rather large smile tugging at the sides of his mouth.

"So when do we get to see the little girl?" Soon Lee asked.

"Visiting hours start at 10:00. Hawkeye said we could come anytime." Daniel replied. Then looking down at the teens and the littler kids he told them that they should get ready if they wanted to see the newest addition of the 4077th family.

**Marion County Hospital**

"Hi everyone!" Margaret called quietly, careful not to wake up the sleeping baby in her arms. The rest of her kids and Daniel had just walked in.

'Oh jeez, here we go again…' BJ was still uncomfortable with hospitals and seeing her mother in a hospital bed. It did make it better, however, seeing that she was very happy.

"Want to come see your little sister?" Hawkeye asked. He sat on the bed next to Margaret.

"Yeah!" The little kids quietly exclaimed excitedly. Everyone from the party got to have a look-see as well and they all commented at least a million times about what a little darling Charlotte was. They also thought that the story of how she was born and who took care of the delivery was pretty amazing as well. The proud mother beamed and smiled ear to ear the whole day. And the proud father's smile was no smaller…even if he would have to change diapers for a whole month.

**So there you have it. The Pierces have three girls and three boys. Hope you liked this chapter. I'm afraid it might not be as good as it could be. Tell me what you thought and no, the story's not over! There's still more to come. Thanks for reading! I'll try to update soon.**


	32. The 'Unedited' Version

**Chapter 32**

**August 30****th****, 1971**

The Potters insisted that the Pierces stay for as long as they needed until both Margaret and Charlotte were ready to travel the long distance. They stayed for another two weeks after the mother and baby were released from the hospital and then took the long trip home. Mildred and Sherman loved having their friends and the kids around. It made them feel young again.

Now, it was the last full day that BJ would be home before she flew back to Iowa City. She was sort of excited for the new semester to begin, but she didn't really want to leave home. She was still in bed since she had been up all night packing clothes and everything else that she would need. The girl with the long black hair, put in two French braids for the time being, burrowed her head under her pillow as Charlotte (who the quadruplets had started calling Charlie and now everyone was calling her that) started crying. Charlie's crib was in her mom and dad's room and BJ could hear her mother sing to the crying little girl. Her mother couldn't hold a pitch if her life depended on it, but it was still affective on the baby.

Before BJ dozed off again, she looked out from under her pillow out the window that faced the ocean. The sun was just coming up and the colors of the sky were beautiful. She could see a few fishing boats before her eyelids drooped down and she fell asleep again.

"_Happy birthday dear BJ, happy birthday to you!" Now, 12 year old BJ Houlihan sat at the head of the table with a big, white cake in front of her while her family and a couple friends sang to her. She closed her eyes, made a wish and blew out the candles. 'I wish I could meet my father'_ _The birthday girl thought to herself before she blew._

"_Here you go!" Margaret had cut a nice big corner piece off for her daughter and set it in front of her. "So, what did you wish for?" She teased, messing up her hair a little._

"_If I say, it won't come true." The girl retorted. Everyone laughed and enjoyed the cake. _

"_Hey this is really good Miss Houlihan." Janie smiled._

"Ahem_" Margaret cleared her throat in mock annoyance._

"_Sorry…_Margaret_." Janie corrected herself._

_Later that night, BJ sat in her room and looked out the window, trying to see the stars. It wasn't the easiest thing to do in Boston since there were so many lights. When she had given up trying to see the stars, she tiptoed to her mother's room and slowly opened the door. She was relieved to see that the lamp on the bedside table was on, illuminating the picture of her mom's friend from the hospital she worked at in Korea. "Mom?" She poked her head through the door._

"_Hey." Margaret looked down at her watch. "What are you doing up so late? It's eleven o'clock."_

"_I just uh…" She looked down at her feat. "I guess I just have a couple questions."_

"_Well come here and I'll try to answer them." Her mother put the book she was reading on the table and patted the other side of the bed. BJ got under the covers and snuggled up to her mom. "So what did you want to know?" Margaret asked._

"_Mom…I know that stork story isn't true. I'm not five anymore. I know _everyone_ has a father and I just want to know where mine is." She spoke a little slowly, thinking about the words._

_Margaret nodded. She wondered how long the stork story would last as an explanation for why BJ didn't have a father around. "He'd be very proud of you, you know that?"_

"_Well, you tell me that…"_

"_He would be." She ran a finger through her daughter's shoulder length black hair. "You look just like him." Margaret smiled, sadly._

"_Okay, but _why_ isn't he _here_?" BJ tried to get her mom back on track of what she asked. "Is he still alive? Did he die? Does he know _I'm_ even alive?"_

_The blonde sighed, "The day I met you was the best day of my life…but I didn't know what to do or how to be a good mother. Luckily I had a lot of help from Grandma when you were little. But the thing of it was…I didn't know what to do about your father. I loved and _still do _love him very much, but I hadn't seen him since the day I left that hospital after the war. He went back to Maine and I tried to tell him a few times but…" She looked down at her daughter and saw that she was fast asleep. She sighed with relief. 'Maybe she won't remember what I told her and I can tell her some other time.'_

_What she didn't know, however, was that BJ just did her 'specialty' of fake sleeping and heard every word._

BJ woke up, a little surprised. 'Why didn't I ever tell mom that I heard her say that she never told dad I was even around?' She remembered how, the day after she had finally met her father, her mother had explained why she never told her father about her, but she didn't say anything about already knowing.

She tried to shrug it off, but it did sort of make her mad. She never got to play with her daddy when she was little like all of the kids got to do in the movies. She was never able to give her dad the traditional tie on father's day before she was 14. Most of her childhood was spent without her father and there were many things that she was never able to do with him like her little brothers and sister did and soon her baby sister would too. She never got put to bed like she was a baby hawk and she never got to play the 'airplane' game with her dad, running around with her in his arms, like the kids did all the time. There were just a lot of things that she never got to do with him and time with him she'd never have. Sure, he did a great job at trying to make those things up to her, but it just wasn't the same.

'Maybe I forgave her too fast?' She thought about her mother. She couldn't be bitter though. She had to 'put on a happy face' even if she was a little ticked about something. She was a lot like her mother that way and tried to not let things get to her, but sometimes (like her mother) the big things _did _affect her.

BJ sat up and yawned. The sun was now up far enough that BJ guessed it was about ten in the morning. When she looked at her watch, she discovered that she was right. It was about ten thirty. She sighed when she realized she only had 24 hours left in Maine for about a year. Her flight took off from Portland, Maine to Des Moines, Iowa at 10:30. 'Maybe only 18 weeks though, if I'm able to come home for Christmas this year.' She tried to tell herself. She got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

"Hey." Daniel was in the kitchen. "I didn't think you'd ever get up." He laughed.

"Kinda wish I had when I _first_ woke up." BJ shrugged, getting the milk out of the fridge to put on her Cheerios. Looking back at her grandpa, she asked, "Where's mom and dad and the kids?"

"Your mom's upstairs with Charlie and your dad took the kids to the park." He knew something was bothering her. "What is it Bea? Afraid they won't be here when you have to leave. You _do _have another day before that happens." He put his paper down and BJ took the place across from him at the kitchen table.

"You really want to know what's bothering me?" She asked, pouring sugar on the cereal and taking a bite. When her grandfather nodded, she sighed and told him about the dream she had.

"I think I might know what's bothering you." Daniel took a sip of his coffee. "You think you were maybe a little too naïve to see that your mother's putting off telling your father about you really did affect you a lot more than you thought at the time, right?" He took a deep breath at the end of the sentence and laughed. "I think I've spent too much time around Radar."

"You know, that's exactly it!" BJ exclaimed. She had been trying to figure out how to make sense of what she felt, and that seemed like it pretty much covered it.

"You mean I _have_ spent too much time around Radar? It's only twice a year but if you say so…" Daniel chuckled, knowing perfectly well what his granddaughter was getting at.

"Grandpa!" She looked at him with a mock exasperated tone.

"I knew what you meant." He smiled. "Now, I understand why your mom didn't tell Hawkeye about you or you about him, but that doesn't mean I necessarily thought she was right about it."

"Yeah, I mean I understand why she didn't tell us as well, but by her doing that, that means I never got to know you before I was 14 either!" She spoke quietly just in case her voice might travel through the house and go upstairs.

Daniel laughed, "I don't think _I'm_ that big of an issue here Bea."

"Sure you are Gramps. I mean, Howitzer was never a grandpa to me. A girl needs a grandfather too!" She chuckled.

"Getting back on subject of your mother…have you talked to her about all of this?" Daniel asked, turning a little more serious.

"I've tried a few times, but I know it's a super sensitive spot for her and I don't want to make her think that I'm not grateful for everything she's done for me." BJ talked fast.

"Look, it's your last full day home for awhile, so…why don't you try to talk to her about it today? Get it off your chest." Daniel looked at his granddaughter and knew what she was thinking. "You won't get into an argument Beej. I can almost guarantee you that."

"Yeah," she nodded, getting up and taking her, now empty, bowl over to the sink. With that, she jogged up the stairs and knocked on her parents' bedroom door.

"Come in." Margaret called and went back to cooing her youngest daughter.

"Okay, I don't know what's more disturbing. Walking in on you and Dad making out or that." BJ joked.

Margaret laughed, "Morning sophomore girl."

"Hey." She walked over to the bed and sat down beside her mom. She reached over and tickled her baby sister's tummy and laughed when Charlie gave a slight giggle. "Man I'm glad you had another girl. The wallpaper in this house is glued on with testosterone." BJ chuckled.

"You think it's bad _now_? Wait until the quads are teenagers. Then we'll be in for a shock…three teenaged boys of the same age in the same house!" The mother and daughter laughed.

After awhile of laughter, BJ's tone turned a little more serious. "Mom, I think I need to talk to you about something…"

"Oh God, you're not pregnant are you?" She asked, teasing her.

"Mom!" BJ laughed, embarrassed. "No, I am not!"

"Oh thank God." Margaret sighed with relief, knowing that her daughter wasn't anyway. She trusted her much more than that. "What is it?" Her tone also became more serious.

"Remember how, on my twelfth birthday, I came into your room and asked you questions about dad at like…eleven o'clock or something like that?"

Margaret thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I remember. You said that you weren't five anymore and you knew that _everyone_ had a father and that the stork story just wouldn't cut it anymore." The blonde had been running a gentle finger on her youngest daughter's leg and the baby was now asleep. (It worked every time). Margaret got up and put the little girl in her crib and went back to sitting on the bed. "What about it?" She asked softly.

"Well, I've just been doing a lot of thinking and…don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you've ever done for me and we had a great life even before I met dad…but there's just a lot of stuff that I never got to do with dad like the kids do. And, I was just talking with Grandpa and I have to agree with him. He said that maybe I was just too naïve when I forgave you for not telling dad about me or me about dad. I _do_ forgive you, but I don't really think I do as much as I could. Oh, I'm just talking in circles. Am I even making any sense?" BJ talked quietly (not wanting to wake up her baby sister), but nervously. She got up from where she sat on the bed and looked out the window, down to the backyard where her father was now being chased by the quadruplets. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. She chuckled softly and looked back at her mom.

"You _are_ making sense Beej." Margaret nodded. "In all honesty, I didn't know _how_ you could ever forgive me in the first place. And, I _have_ seen that look you get sometimes when you watch your father play with the kids. It's not really jealousy, I know, but it's something along those lines." BJ nodded. "I uh…kind of told you the edited version of why I didn't tell your father about you. Maybe if I told you the 'unedited' version, you'd understand a little more…"

"Could you try?" BJ asked, sitting back on the bed.

Margaret nodded and looked her daughter square in the eyes while she told the story. "It all started a little while after the nurses all had to retreat for awhile while the Chinese were rumored to be somewhere in the mountains by the camp. When we got back, I was told that my nursing staff and I would be having a surprise inspection in only a couple days…and the men had left the place a _mess_! Well, after Colonel Bucholtz' inspection was over, I was coming out of my tent when your father walked by in his tuxedo." She sighed, "Was he ever charming that night…"

"Mom." BJ gently poked her mom in the arm. "You still in there?"

"What? Sorry." She came back down to earth. "Anyway, we ended up going to the officer's club together and dancing all night with each other. We were having so much fun. I was so nervous about how the inspection went and your father was trying to keep my mind off of it…" Margaret again went into day dream mode, thinking about that night.

"_How's your lindy?" Margaret asked the tall, dark haired, handsome man that stood in front of her in his tuxedo._

"_How's yours?" He asked with that smile that drove her nuts._

"_Perfect, but I can bring it down a notch." She joked, opening the door to the officer's club._

"_I guess I'll just have to test you on that." Hawkeye took her in his arms and they started dancing the night away._

_A couple hours had passed and Hawkeye and Margaret were almost the only ones left in the dimly lit building. "Would you like another drink Major?" The handsome doctor asked as soft music played in the background._

"_No thanks…" Margaret replied, a little tipsy. "I think all I need now is to go and lie down or something. I have a feeling that I'm quite drunk."_

"_Well why don't I escort you to your tent, madam?" Hawkeye was also a little tipsy from quite a few extra dry martinis. He held his arm out for her to link to and together they started to the head nurse's tent. "Well here you are." They looked deeply into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning in for what they thought would be a goodnight kiss. When it broke a few moments later, Hawkeye muttered, "You know Major, I have a confession to make."_

"_What's that?" Margaret asked, her arms around his shoulders._

"_I've loved you for a long time…A very long time." He whispered._

_The blonde was a little taken aback, but smiled. "I've loved you too. You helped me so much when I decided to leave Donald and you've been more than just my best friend over here. I just never thought you felt the same way about me." She was sobering up a little, not much, but a little. _

_They looked at each other in silence for a moment. "Your tent or mine?" Hawkeye broke the silence and kissed her neck._

"_What about the supply room?" She asked, grabbing his hand. She look around to make sure no one was watching._

_Hawkeye looked at her with a little concern in his eyes when they got to the door to the supply room. "Are you sure?"_

"_Yeah." She nodded, a faint smile spreading across her face. Hawkeye's smile grew more mischievous as he reached around her to open the door._

"Mom…?" BJ looked at her mother with the same concerned face as her father had.

"Sorry." Margaret shook her head a little, almost as if she was clearing out cobwebs. "Where was I?"

"The inspection with Colonel Bucholtz…you and Dad dancing in the officer's club…" The girl tried to jog her mother's memory.

"Ah yes. Well, not long after that night happened, it was the Fourth of July and Colonel Potter gave us the day off. We all went to the beach at Inchon and had a wonderful time. Your father and I must have spent the whole day together…having some fully clothed fun."

"Mom!" BJ whispered loudly, a look of disgust on her face.

"Sorry." Her mother laughed. "I didn't mean to scar you for the rest of your life." She winked. "Anyway, that day was wonderful and everyone was having so much fun until that night on our way back to the 4077th."

"What happened on the way back?" BJ asked.

"Well…please don't tell your father that I told you any of what I'm about to tell you, okay? I'm not sure what it would do to him, and I really don't want to find out." Margaret grabbed her daughters hands in both of hers, rubbing the tops with her thumbs a little.

"Okay…?" The girl nodded, though a little confused.

"At first, the bus trip was a lot of fun. But, when we picked up some refugees, it went all downhill from there. Although, in a way we were lucky." Margaret shrugged. Seeing the look of confusion on her daughter's face, she continued, "Well, actually it was when we picked up the wounded GI's that things went downhill. They told us that we needed to get the bus into the bushes…and fast. There was an enemy patrol heading our way and we all needed to be silent." She paused. BJ noticed how her mother started looking a little sadder with every word she spoke of the story. "One of the refugees had her baby with her…and when the patrol was passing us, it started making noise. Your father, looking out for everyone on the bus told the woman to keep her baby quiet, but…the woman just couldn't get the poor thing to quiet down. So…she ended up," her voice cracked with emotion as she uttered the next words, "smothering it." She had a few tears in her eyes and noticed that BJ had a look of pure shock on her face. Margaret wiped the tears away and continued, "Your father took it very hard. He thought that since he had told the mother to keep her baby quiet, that it was _his_ fault. But it wasn't…During the next couple of days…he was acting really strange. He did some things that were _very_ strange, even for your father."

It was sort of a funny comment, but BJ didn't dare udder a laugh. She just looked at her mother, hoping that there was more to the story.

"Soon, Colonel Potter knew that he needed some serious psychiatric help and called Sidney Freedman, a very nice man who's shoulder is big enough for the whole world to cry on." She sighed, "Your father was then taken to the mental hospital in Tokyo for observations for awhile…I was devastated. I didn't think that he would ever be the same Hawkeye that I fell in love with. But…a couple weeks later, he came back to the 4077th, well actually the 4077th _away_ from the 4077th since we had had a bug out when a fire came through the mountains. For the first few days, he was still a little…odd…but after awhile, he pretty much went back to the same captain that stole my heart. Sure, he had changed a little, but it wasn't all that obvious."

"But, if he had pretty much gone back to the same guy he was before…why does that explain the reason you didn't tell him about me?" The teenager asked gently, eyebrow raised, making her look like her mother.

"I'm not exactly done yet." She pointed out. "After the whole ordeal on the bus happened, he became pretty uncomfortable with kids. Little kids…Babies especially." BJ nodded in understanding. "I didn't know how he would be able to take it…knowing that he was going to be a father. This may sound a little offensive to you, and that's not how I meant it to be, but I didn't really feel right about telling him about you because…I didn't want for him to have to go through all of that again. I loved him too much to see him suffer like that." The girl's mother started crying. "I know that makes me sound like the worst mother on the planet, but…that's pretty much why I didn't tell him about you…and I'm so sorry."

BJ felt bad for making her mother conger up the bad memories. But she did feel a little bit better about it all, knowing that the reason why she didn't tell Hawkeye wasn't because she didn't want to have her in the first place. She knew before that it was because her mom loved her dad too much to tell him, but now she knew why it could have 'broke' him in a way. "It's okay Mom. I understand completely now." She had a few tears of her own rolling down her cheeks. This wasn't exactly what she thought would be a conversation that would take place on her last day home before she left for the new semester at school, but she was glad they had it. She _did_ still feel a little jealous of her little siblings, but knowing what her mom went through and the tough decisions she had to make, seemed to make the sort of selfish emotion die down a little.

"You can't imagine how good it feels to get that all off my chest." Margaret calmed down a little. "I hope you don't hate me now."

"I could never hate you mom." They both stood up and BJ hugged her mother. It didn't matter what had happened, her mom's hugs could make anything better.

"I'm glad." The mother, now of six, looked out the window where her husband and middle children were playing. "I'm certainly glad your father overcame his discomfort of little kids. He's a wonderful father."

"He's the best." BJ nodded.

The rest of that day was spent getting as much time together as the family could. At 10:30 the next morning, the large family gave their tear-filled goodbyes to BJ before she boarded her plane to Iowa. She hated having to leave her family again, but hoped she would see them before too long. Of course she didn't know it, but there were a couple surprises waiting for BJ in Iowa…

**Don't panic! That's not the end of the story! There's more to come, I promise! Sorry it took so long to update. I was suffering from some writer's block and also, Music Sweet Music and I were working on our new site. Check it out if you want! ****. Thanks for reading and tell me what you thought! And again: There's more to come!****thehawkandthemagpie./index.cgi**


	33. BJ: Author

**Chapter 33**

"Name?" The dorm advisor asked BJ as she walked onto the sophomore girls' floor.

"Pierce…Beatrice." She had to think for a moment. She wanted to say BJ, but knew that wasn't what would be on the list. She was also a little tired. Her flight had landed about three hours ago but it took awhile to get from Des Moines to Iowa City.

"Ah yes. You're with O'Donnell." The brunette smiled and lead BJ down the hall.

"Excuse me, did you say O'Donnell?"

"Sure did." When they got to the door the girl, named Samantha, opened it.

"Janie?!" BJ saw her redheaded, best friend and couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here?" She was smiling from ear to ear. "I thought you were going to the University of Boston." Samantha quietly stepped out of the dorm room.

"I wanted out of Boston." Janie got up and gave her best friend a hug. "When I heard, through Erin I might add, that you really liked it here I decided 'what the heck' and transferred all of my paper work here and decided to take my sophomore year in Iowa to see if I like it. Plus, it's cheaper than Boston too!"

"Awesome!" The look on the girl's face turned somber. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't stay in better touch. Things just got pretty hectic and all…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I hear some congratulations are in order." Janie smiled.

"Yeah. Charlie's almost two months old already." BJ nodded.

"Charlie? I thought your mom had a girl?" The redhead looked thoroughly confused.

"She did." BJ explained, "The quadruplets started calling her Charlie and we all thought that was pretty cute so, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and I started calling her that too." She dug a frame out of her suitcase and showed the picture to her friend.

"That is pretty cute." Janie laughed and looked at the picture. "She is too!"

"Did I hear that Jim got married this summer?" BJ had heard something about it from Honoria that Fourth of July, but hadn't heard anymore.

"Yeah. They got married on June 31st. I meant to call you but you weren't home. Your mom must have forgotten to have you call me back."

"Probably. The last few days of June were spent packing for our trip to Hannibal. I thought you were going to go with the Winchesters?"

"That was the original plan. But then my brother asked Trisha to marry him and they set the wedding date for the day before we'd leave. The wedding was at the house so I had to stay and clean up afterwards and when all was said and done, I just didn't have the time. I had also spent all of my money on their wedding present."

"Who's Trisha?"

"I told you about her, she's that nurse that helped Jim when he got hit in the leg by that piece of shrapnel. If it hadn't been for her, he would've lost that leg. The doctor didn't think it was anything."

"From my parents' stories, it sounds like that doctor was a lot like Ferret Face." The Pierce girl rolled her eyes, putting her sheets on her bed in the corner. Janie had already taken the bed by the window but she didn't really mind. It'd be darker in her corner at night. The campus's parking lot was pretty lit up at night.

"Kinda what I was thinking." Janie agreed with her friend's comment. "So, how's your book coming?"

"Huh?" The only person that BJ had told anything about the book to was Katie, surprisingly.

"Katie told me all about it. She said it was really good." The girl with the waist length red hair put a few books on the shelf by her bed and went over to the closet to hang up some clothes.

"Well, I pretty much finished it after Charlie was born. Now I have to try to edit it." The writer sighed.

"Maybe I could help you?" Janie suggested hopefully.

"Well, I _will_ need some help." BJ replied, laughing. "So, what classes are you taking?" The two girls spent the better part of that night catching up with each other. After a couple of hours however, BJ remembered what she had promised her mother she'd do. "Crap."

"What?" The two girls were now 'decorating' the walls with different posters, mainly they were Iowa Hawkeye posters, but there were a few from movies as well.

"I told mom that I'd call her as soon as I got here." And with that, BJ ran out the door and over to the payphone. After a few rings, her mom answered. "Mom!"

"Oh thank heavens." Margaret sighed with relief. "You didn't _just_ get to the campus did you?"

"No, I'm sorry but I forgot to call you. I got distracted." She leaned up against the wall and played with the phone cord.

"It's okay, I'm just glad your alright." They talked for awhile about BJ's flight to Iowa. After a couple more dimes in the payphone, Margaret asked her daughter, "So do you know your roommate from last year?"

BJ laughed, "Actually I know her from when I was about four."

"Huh?"

"My new roommate is Janie."

"You're kidding." It was Margaret's turn to laugh.

"No! I was shocked, but we're having a great time already!"

**December 19th, 1971**

"So, without further ado: I shall see you all in two weeks. Have a nice break!" Professor Rinten was an easy go lucky guy who loved what he did. He was by far BJ's favorite professor and was very easy to get along with and was a wonderful teacher. As all of the students filed out of their seats and to the door however, he stopped her. "Beatrice. Can I see you for a second."

"I'll meet you guys at the dorm." BJ told Janie and Katie. They were all packed and were going to the airport together to catch their flight to Maine at 2:30. It was now about 11:30 in the morning. "Yes Professor?" She went over by the desk at the front of the room where he was sitting.

"Ah Beatrice, just the person I wanted to see." He opened the top door of the desk and took out a blue book with a red lobster on it. "Have a seat."

The Pierce girl took a seat and looked at the book. "Reading up on lobsters?" She joked.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He nodded.

"Lobsters?" She looked a little confused. "I may be from Maine now but I'm no expert on seafood."

"No no." Professor Rinten laughed. "I was talking about the cover art." He held the book up so BJ could see it better.

"Stuck in the Cove." She spoke the title of the book she had been writing since the day after Christmas in 1967. She was a little confused. "How did you…?" Her voice trailed off.

"Well, Janie came in about a couple months or so ago with a copy of your manuscript she had made and asked me to read it. I did, thought it was excellent by the way, and sent it to my brother-in-law in New York. He's the CEO of a big publishing firm and seriously owed me." He chuckled. "He put this at the front of the list and sent me back the first copy…" The middle aged man handed the book to BJ, "For the author."

"I don't know what to say!?" BJ exclaimed excitedly, flipping through the book. She stopped at the dedication page and read it to herself. _'To that 'brat' that got Janie and me stuck in the cove who turned out to be one of my best friends, and to the best dad in the world that I found there.'_ She laughed thinking about when she wrote that. It had been late one night when Charlie was crying back in early August.

"Well, I'd like for you to take that with you over break and read it. See if there's anything that needs to be changed and all that. Also, if you don't mind, maybe you could write an 'about the author' and a summery for the back." He smiled, guiding the girl towards the door.

"How can I ever thank you for this?!" BJ was ecstatic.

"A signed copy would be great." The professor laughed. "It'd be worth thousands when this baby hit's the shelves…and the New York Times Bestseller list." He tapped the hard cover of the book.

"I'll make sure to get you one sir." The girl's smile was a mile wide as she waved goodbye and ran out of the building, zipping her coat up as she ran through the foot of snow like it was nothing. "Janie!" She plowed through the door and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"Uh…good to see you too?" Janie patted her friend on the back, well tried to anyway. BJ's backpack and coat made it next to impossible.

BJ shed the backpack and her mom's old field jacket (that she loved too much to quit wearing) and showed the two girls the book in her hand.

"Your book!" Katie's jaw dropped. "It's in…book form!"

"I know!" The, now published author chuckled at her friends' reactions. "And I owe it all to you!" She hugged Janie again.

"Hey, I just showed your American Lit. teacher. He's the one who actually got it published." The redhead shrugged.

"Well I was never going to show anyone my manuscript except for you guys." BJ shrugged.

Janie nodded, "Well it was just too good to go unnoticed so I took it to Professor Rinten in the hopes that he knew someone in publishing. I hope you don't mind that I took your original copy down to get it copied and did all that…"

"Of course I don't mind!" The girl with the shiny black hair shook her head, smiling from ear to ear again. "This is wonderful!" She looked at the book. "I can't wait to show everyone!" After awhile, she threw a few more things in her suitcase and picked it up. Looking at her watch, she asked the others, "Are we ready?"

"Yep!" The three girls then hopped on the bus and rode to the airport where they would fly to Portland, Maine from. They met Katie's parents and little brother in Des Moines and had a late lunch before they boarded the plane.

**Somewhere over New York**

"So, how much longer do you think it'll be?" Janie asked BJ or Katie, whoever would listen, really. The three girls were sitting in the same row while Radar, Patty, and Johnny sat behind them.

"You sound like Max." BJ laughed. Janie stuck her tongue out at the girl by the window. "Okay, now you _look_ like Henry."

Katie took authority, "Okay you two!" The O'Reily girl looked down at her watch, "The pilot said we're over New York so it shouldn't be that much longer."

"What are you doing Beej?" Johnny asked from behind his sister.

"Trying to think of an 'about the author' for me. It's not working too well." BJ shook her head and put the paper she was writing on aside.

"Why not?" Katie asked.

"I don't know how to describe me! I don't want it to sound too corny."

"What do you have so far?" Janie craned her neck to see what was written on the paper.

"_Beatrice Jane "BJ" Pierce was born in Boston, Massachusetts and lived there until she was fourteen. Now she lives in Crabapple Cove, Maine with her mom, dad, grandpa, and five little brothers and sisters. She loves spending time with her friends, taking walks on the beach and watching the ocean…and writing._" BJ recited. She didn't know how she was supposed to do an 'about the author' seeing as how it was, pretty much, her autobiography anyway.

"No offence or anything, but that sounds like your trying to find a date." Johnny laughed.

"Oh blow it out your ear." The writer shot back, knowing that he was right. "I just don't know what else to put in it. If people were to just read the book they'd already know everything about me."

"What if someone else were to write it for you." Katie asked looked like she was getting an idea.

"I'm beginning to think that it'd be less stressful that way."The girl by the window shrugged, "I don't see where that would be a problem, I mean an 'about the author' is always in third person anyway."

"Can I do it?" Janie asked, hopefully.

"If you want." BJ laughed, handing her the paper and pen.

"Thank you." Janie sat by the aisle and was left handed so it was difficult for the other girls to see what she was writing, exactly how Janie wanted it.

In a couple more hours, the plane landed in Portland, Maine. Everyone who would be at the party decided that it would be easier for the Pierce family to have Christmas at their house instead of having to travel with five little kids to Toledo, Ohio (It would have been the Klingers' turn to host the party). BJ was happy about that since she'd be able to go home for awhile.

Just like when BJ came home for the summer, her father was waiting for the group when they walked in. "Dad!" The girl ran to her father and gave him a big hug. "No Maggie this time?" She asked, a little disappointed.

"We have to try to fit everyone and their luggage in the station wagon." Hawkeye laughed. "Your family can't wait to see you though." He hugged her again, excited to see his daughter home for Christmas.

"I can't wait to see them either!" When BJ realized that her book was in her hand, she quickly tucked it away in her backpack. On the plane, the young writer decided that she wasn't going to tell anyone else until she had an 'actual' first copy. She wanted to tell them in a way that was a little more special. Father's day came to mind…

After Hawkeye greeted everyone, they headed to the car and tried to pack the sardine can. Luckily, everything fit and they were in Crabapple Cove in less than an hour. The kids were all reunited with their families and the other kids and were having a great time already.

**January 2, 1972**

"Did you get that 'about the author' done?" BJ asked Janie as they were unpacking at about eleven o'clock at night. Their plane had landed about two hours ago and everyone thought that their break went way too fast.

"I most certainly did." Janie smiled and handed the piece of paper to BJ.

"Do I get to read it?"

"I would think so." The redhead laughed.

"Yippy!" She grabbed the paper and read out loud. "_Beatrice Jane 'BJ' Pierce was born in Boston, Massachusetts and now lives in Crabapple Cove, Maine with her rather large family. She's a writer, an awesome baseball pitcher, driver of a nice Firebird, an A student at the University of Iowa, and the best friend anyone could ever ask for._" BJ laughed, "Thanks Janie." She gave her friend a hug before tucking the paper in the book with the summary she had to write. Over the break, she found a few things that needed changing and marked the pages. She'd give the package to Professor Rinten tomorrow. She couldn't wait for it to actually be published.

**June 18, 1972**

BJ had an 'actual' first copy by the summer of 1972. She knew exactly what she would do with it.

Beatrice Jane Pierce wrapped the first copy of 'Stuck in the Cove' in some pretty blue paper up in her room. She had signed it and wrote a little note on the title page. The note said:

_Happy Father's Day, Dad!_

_Hope reading this lets you know just how much I appreciate and love you!_

_Love,_

_BJ_

_PS: Even if you lose the last page of _this_ book like that Abigail Porterfield book you told me about, you'll still know 'who done it'._

BJ smiled, wondering what her parents would say.When she was satisfied with the appearance of the package, she ran down the steps and slid down the other set, going to the back yard where Hawkeye was playing with the kids. "Dad's outback right?" She asked her mom.

"Yep." Margaret smiled and looked at the package in her daughter's hand. "What did you get him?"

"It's a surprise, even for you!" BJ gave her a smile that let her know she was up to something. "Come on!" Margaret followed the girl out to the back porch and took a seat on the porch swing. Daniel was sitting on the lounge chair, reading a book.

"Hey Dad?!" BJ called to the 'head plane'.

"Yeah?" Hawkeye looked up, putting his 'wings' down.

"You want to land over here for a minute?" She laughed. Hawkeye reached down to pick up a very giggly Charlie who had been watching her father and siblings make absolute fools of themselves. When they all got to the porch, BJ motioned for her dad to sit on the swing. Crouching down to the quads' heights, she whispered for them to get their presents for their father and they raced into the house and came back out, packages in hand. "Sorry, but I couldn't wait to give this to you. I thought it should be last though." With that, the proud father opened the kids' gifts from his other kids.

"Here Daddy! Open mine first!" Henry handed him a small, round package.

"I wonder what it could be?" Hawkeye tore the paper eagerly and laughed when he saw the contents. "A new baseball! Thanks Henry." He gave the small boy a hug.

"Now mine!" Maggie tossed her package to him. "Mommy helped me pick it out."

"Did she?" He looked over at Margaret, eyebrow wagging. He was then playfully slapped on the back of the head with her free hand, her other one occupied with Charlotte.

When the contents of Maggie's present were exposed, Hawkeye gave a hardy laugh. "Now I _definitely_ needed this." In the package was a GI Joe doll, this one with black hair.

"Mommy said it looked like you, and I thought it would be good for when you played with me and my dolls." Maggie rocked back and forth on her feet like her big sister did sometimes.

"Well it _does_ sort of look like me." The dad put the box up by him and smiled, "See the resemblance." Everyone laughed at this. "Now who's do I open?"

"Mine!" Max handed him a small box with red and white paper covering it.

"Okey dokey." He opened the box and dug through the lime green tissue paper. "Ah yes, the traditional Father's Day tie." Hawkeye chuckled. "Thank you Max, Charlie Brown and Snoopy are certainly my colors." He held it up to his neck. "How do I look?"

"Ravishing." Margaret leaned over and kissed him.

"EWW!" The four kids covered their eyes and Charlie giggled again.

"You remember that." The kids' father winked at them and, hiding his face from his wife added, "Girls have cooties."

"No they don't!" Maggie piped up. BJ and Daniel just laughed through the whole ordeal.

"Can we get back to this people?!" Danny brought the attention back to the presents.

"Oh, yes sir General Short-stuff." Hawkeye threw his son a funny salute and pulled his had down over his eyes.

"Thank you!" The little boy adjusted his hat and gave his father another box.

"Hmmm, now I wonder what this is?"

"You might have to uh…OPEN IT!" Danny had a personality like his father's and mother's mixed.

"Okay okay, don't hurt me." Hawkeye chuckled as he ripped the paper from the box. "Very nice of you Danny." He laughed as he pulled out a new rubber chicken. This one however, was easily recognized as a chicken, but had a shark costume on. On the stomach it said 'I am not a chicken'.

"Oh jeez, now _that's_ going to pop everywhere and it'll be the 4077th all over again!" Margaret shook her head in mock annoyance. She then went with Charlie into the house for a moment and came back out carrying the little girl who was carrying a tiny package. "You want to give that do Daddy?" Margaret asked her youngest daughter. Charlie stretched out and held the package out for him.

"Thanks little lady." Hawkeye kissed his little daughter on the forehead and she giggled some more. He opened the box and smiled. "A new razor…is that insinuating anything Chuckles?" He put down the box and picked his little girl up. "Thank you." He kissed her on the cheek and then went to kiss Margaret on the cheek too. "Thanks honey."

"You kind of needed a new one." She chuckled. "Okay Beej, I want to see what you got for your father."

"I want to see that too!" Hawkeye teased.

Daniel had come over to watch his son's reactions to the presents and was thoroughly enjoying the show. "Yeah, come on Bea!"

"Okay, here you go." BJ traded the box for her little sister. "This is what I always hid from you guys and what I was working on since the first Christmas with you." She looked at her father. "And keep in mind that I couldn't have done it without that gift that you gave me then."

His curiosity got the better of him and he dug into opening it. He smiled when he saw the top part of the cover. "Stuck in the Cove"

"Open it the rest of the way." BJ urged.

Hawkeye pulled the rest of the wrapping paper off and BJ thought her parents' eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. "Stuck in the Cove by Beatrice J. Pierce." He looked back up at his daughter, "You wrote this?"

BJ nodded, "Check out the title page."

He read it and laughed, "Yep, I'll know who did it."

"BJ this is incredible! You're a published author!" Margaret got up and gave her daughter a one armed hug, careful not to squish Charlie.

"I can't wait to read this." Hawkeye also got up to give his daughter a hug. "You're going to be the talk of the town for a long time, you know that right?"

"Well, I _do_ have to do a couple book signings in Portland later in the summer and I signed up for one at the bookstore down town too." BJ beamed with pride. "I still keep thinking I'm dreaming! I must have read that thing a hundred times while I was writing it, but now when it's in 'book form' I'm still reading it!"

Margaret had taken the book and was leafing through it. "I love the dedication Beej. That's pretty good."

"Thanks. I wrote that a long time ago."

"Well I love all of my presents you guys." Hawkeye gave each of his kids a hug and gave his dad a hug as well, giving him _his_ Father's Day present. Hawkeye had found a very good picture of his mom and had it framed for his dad. Daniel was thrilled.

Later while the family was all sitting around the dinner table, BJ had to tell everyone the story of how her book got published.

**Hope you liked what I added on to that. There will be a little more but I think, for real this time, that there will probably only be a few chapters left of 'Stuck in the Cove'. Mine, not BJ's…hers is already done!**


	34. Benji's Surprise

_Sorry, meant to mention this, but I added a little more to chapter 33. Might want to read it! Thanks!_

**Chapter 34**

**June 4****th****, 1975**

BJ, Katie, and Janie all graduated from the University of Iowa. BJ was an English major (who graduated fifth in her class) and was getting recognized for her book all the time. 'Stuck in the Cove' sold a LOT of copies and was still doing great.

The quadruplets were about seven years old now and Charlotte was almost four. She had pitch black hair like her father and oldest sister, but she had her mom's nose and eyes.

For the time being, BJ was living at home until she got a job. She had applied for a couple in New York City but hadn't heard anything back from them and wasn't all that upset about it. Right now, the three Pierce girls were up in BJ's room, putting a puzzle together. Daniel had taken the boys to a movie they had wanted to see and Hawkeye and Margaret were alone in the living room, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"You know," Hawkeye put an arm around his wife on the couch, "I think this is the quietest this house has been since the quadruplets were born."

"I know, it seems so strange." Margaret shook her head and looked at her watch, "When was your father going to be back with the boys?"

"I don't know. I think the movie started at seven." Hawkeye shrugged. "And I don't think the girls will be down for awhile. I saw Charlie carrying a five hundred piece puzzle up to BJ's room." He laughed, "BJ will probably be doing most of it." Margaret also chuckled at the comment. "So…we pretty much have the house to ourselves." He smiled 'wickedly' at his wife and leaned a little more on her.

"Hawkeye." She giggled as she laid down on the couch and he covered her neck with kisses. "Hawkeye, our kids could come down those stairs at any moment."

"You worry too much." The raven haired man mumbled in between kisses. "Besides, those stairs are noisy, we'll hear them."

"Well if they walk in and there's you on top of me, kissing me like this, they'll be scarred for life."

"We're fully clothed! How can it be that bad?" Hawkeye laughed, "Besides, tomorrow's our anniversary. Aren't we allowed any romance anymore?"

"Of course we are…that's why your father and BJ are watching the kids tomorrow so we can go out for supper and…other things." She also threw a devilish smile his way.

"Margaret, you cheeky devil." Hawkeye went in for another kiss and jumped when the doorbell rang.

"Little jumpy there?" Margaret laughed as he got up to answer the door. Hawkeye disappeared behind the wall, but appeared again for a moment to stick his tongue out at his wife in fun.

The man went to answer the door and was quite surprised by what, or rather who, he saw. "Benji?!" Hawkeye greeted the, now, man. "Benji it's great to see you, but…why are you here?" He tried not to sound rude, but that's kind of how it sounded. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know Dr. Pierce." Benji smiled, shrugging it off. "Listen," he talked quieter, "I don't want BJ to know I'm here yet. I just need to talk to you before I do what I came here to do."

"Uh, okay…" Hawkeye looked very confused. "Well, come on in and we'll go to my den. She never goes in there, too much guy stuff." He laughed.

After they got to the den, Hawkeye motioned for the man to sit at the couch by the door. He went behind his desk and rolled his chair out so it would be across from Benji. There was a knock at the door. "Yeah?" Hawkeye called.

"Who was at the door honey?" Margaret asked.

"Oh uh…" The man thought as Benji shook his head, letting him know that he didn't want her to know he was there either. "Wrong house."

"Oh…well, are you coming back out here?" She asked.

"Um…I just have to check something. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay, I'll just make some hot chocolate for us, Cuddle Toes." And with that, Margaret went to the kitchen.

Benji snickered, looking at Hawkeye's eyes that looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. He was turning a little red from embarrassment. Pretty soon the snickering became a full blown laugh with Hawkeye joining in. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't spread that around." 'Cuddle Toes' told him between fits of laughter.

"Not a problem!" Benji was now laying on the couch, laughing like crazy.

"Okay…okay…" Hawkeye tried to get himself and the boy calmed down before Margaret came in, wondering what the heck her husband was laughing so much about. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well uh…" Now Benji became a little nervous. "As you know, BJ and I have been 'dating' for about six or so years now…and uh…we met at you and Mrs. Pierce's wedding."

"Yeah…" Hawkeye nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Well Sir, I really love your daughter and I hope you know that…"

"She loves you too." Now he thought he _might_ know where the conversation was going.

Benji dug in the pocket of his light summer jacket and pulled out a small black box and opened it so the older man could see. "Dr. Pierce, I'd like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage, only I wanted to make sure it was okay with your first."

A warm smile spread across Hawkeye's face. "Benjamin, I wouldn't want any other man for my daughter. I'd be honored if you would take my little girl's hand in matrimony and I'm very pleased that you came to me to ask first."

Benji's smile was from ear to ear as he rose off of the couch and shook his (hopefully) future father-in-law's hand. "Thank you very much Dr. Pierce."

"Okay, let me change my answer for a second." Hawkeye smiled, "You're only allowed to ask my daughter to marry you if you don't call me that! We've told you hundreds of times that you can call me Hawkeye and 'Mrs. Pierce' Margaret."

"Will do Hawkeye." Benji shook the man's hand some more.

"So uh, when are you going to pop the question?" The two men stood and Hawkeye voiced the question, wondering if he'd get to see.

"Well, I was sort of hoping tonight…Is everyone home? I'd kind of like to ask her when she's with her family."

"My dad and the boys will be home most anytime now."

"Good." Benji's wheels started turning as he thought of his plan. "Okay, well can you help me on this?"

"But of course!" Hawkeye replied, eagerly willing to be in on any type of clever business, especially if it would make his daughter very happy.

"Okay, so I've been thinking about this for awhile…" The two men then planned out what they would do to surprise BJ.

**Later That Night**

It was about 10:00 and the Pierces were all in the living room. Charlie was half asleep on her mother's lap. "You want to go to bed Charlie?" Margaret asked.

"Nope." She answered stubbornly.

"Hey, why don't we all go down to the beach and have a campfire?!" Hawkeye shot up from where he sat by his wife on the couch, trying to put Benji's plan into action. Benji was now in Hawkeye's den, waiting for the signal. (The slamming screen door).

"Huh?" BJ looked up from where she sat with her brothers and sister on the rug.

"Sure! Come on! What do you say?" Hawkeye went over by the doorway. "We could roast marshmallows and make s'mores." This got the kids' attention and they followed their dad to the kitchen where he grabbed the makings of the sweet treats.

"I guess we're having a campfire." Margaret walked to the kitchen with BJ and Daniel behind her.

"Okey-dokey, here we go." Hawkeye opened the door for his family and they walked through and down to the beach.

"What are you up to Ben?" Margaret asked as she went by.

"What makes you think I'm up to anything?" He asked, a smile pulling at the sides of his mouth.

"You're acting rather strange…even for you" Daniel added for her.

"That's what I was thinking." Margaret laughed.

Hawkeye just shrugged and followed his family down to the beach where he built a good sized fire.

Benji waited for ten minutes after the screen door slammed shut before he quietly snuck down to the beach. He could see everyone's face, illuminated by both the fire and the moonlight. The view was breathtaking. He never got tired of the Pierce's property by the ocean.

"What was that?" Maggie jumped when she heard a twig snap.

"Probably just a bird or something." Hawkeye smiled, knowing what it was.

A couple minutes later, BJ must have jumped a foot in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry!" Benji chuckled. He felt bad, but her reaction was really funny.

"Benji! What are you doing here!?" She got up and hugged him tight. Daniel, Margaret, and the kids all had surprised looks on their faces and Hawkeye just smiled, knowing what was coming.

"Well, I had to do something." He started the explanation, holding her hands. "We met at your parents' wedding and have pretty much been dating since then." BJ grinned, trying to figure out what the handsome man in front of her was doing. "And that'll be eight years tomorrow…I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you very much. Whenever I'm around you I get tons of butterflies in my stomach and whenever I kiss you, I feel like I'm at the top of the world." When he knelt down, BJ, Daniel, and Margaret gasped in delight.

"Daddy, what's he doing?" Charlie asked the man who's lap she was sitting on, eating a s'more.

"You'll see." He hugged the little girl in his lap and watched the 'show'.

Margaret had a few tears of joy in her eyes, not believing that her daughter was actually getting proposed to.

"Beatrice," Benji smiled, "when I first met you, eight years ago, I knew that something was going to happen. I could never get you out of my head. I know this isn't much of a proposal, but," he got the ring out of his pocket again and slipped it on her finger, "will you marry me?"

"I'd _love_ to marry you!" BJ had a few tears in her eyes as Benji stood up and kissed her.

"Ewww!" The little kids chorused.

"Remember that." The girl told her little siblings, her lips only a little bit away from Benji's. The adults clapped and congratulated the couple.

"I can't believe my baby's getting married!" Margaret hugged her oldest daughter.

"I'm hardly your _baby_ anymore, mom." She hugged her back.

"You'll always be my _first_ little baby though."

**The Next Day**

"Happy anniversary Honey." Hawkeye and Margaret were sitting at the Lobster Shack in the dim, candle light. He reached over to her side of the table and caressed her hand.

"Happy anniversary Hawkeye." Margaret smiled across the table and raised her glass. He brought his up and clanked it against hers.

"Can you believe that our daughter is going to be married in under a month?" He shook his head in disbelief. (BJ and Benji decided to have their wedding on the Fourth of July)

"Not at all." Margaret put her glass down and put her head in her hand. "That little girl who dressed as a bride on Halloween when she was eight is now going to be a _real _bride."

"Well, you have to figure, that little girl is now 21 years old and actually an adult now…" The girl's father shook his head as well as he messaged his wife hand in comfort.

"I feel so old right now." Margaret laughed.

"We won't be old until Charlotte's an adult." Hawkeye flashed her one of his crooked smiles that also drove her nuts.

"I'll try to remember that." The blonde chuckled as she took a sip of the wine.

**Later - The Pierce Home**

Hawkeye looked at his watch, "It's midnight. I wonder if anyone's still up." The two went to the front door and he opened it for his wife.

"It looks pretty dark. Everyone must be in bed." Margaret was on Hawkeye's arm when they stepped through the front door.

"I hope Benji is where he's supposed to be." Hawkeye flipped on the lights in the living room quick to see if the boy was sleeping on the couch where he said he would. (All of the kids now had their own room and one of the guestrooms was transformed into a playroom so there wasn't much room for guests anymore). "Hey!" He just caught his daughter and future son-in-law 'making out' on the couch. Sure, they were fully clothed, but it still sort of made him mad that they were doing that in the dark. Who knows how far it would have gone had he not turned on the light.

"Dad!" BJ jumped.

"What the hell are you doing?" He folded his arms across his chest angrily.

"I'm engaged remember." BJ showed her father the ring on her finger.

Hawkeye's shoulders drooped a little, knowing that he was being a little unreasonable. He looked back at his wife who was visibly trying to stifle a laugh. "Okay fine, but nothing more than kissing. In fact…you sit on that side of the couch" He motioned for BJ to move and then Benji, "and you sit on that side of the couch and blow kisses if you have to."

Margaret chuckled a little, "Honey let's just go to bed." She held her hand out for him to grab.

"Fine, just don't move from where you are now." Hawkeye looked back at his daughter who was now sitting on the completely opposite side of the couch as Benji.

"Uh-hu." BJ gave a thumbs up as her parents went up the stairs.

"Where were we?" Benji asked when they heard Hawkeye and Margaret's door close.

"Right here." BJ scooted back over to her fiancée and wrapped her arms around him.

**Upstairs**

"They're kissing again…" Hawkeye sighed from where he was laying in bed, knowing that the two wouldn't stay where they were when they left.

"Honey, like you said yourself, BJ is 21 years old…she's an adult now." Margaret slipped on a night gown and opened the window, trying to get a cool breeze to come through the room. She then crawled into bed and laid her head on his chest.

"Yeah, I know…" He sighed again, stroking Margaret's hair. "How can we turn back time and make her little again?"

"Sometimes I wish we could…"

**I'm not too sure, but I think there will only be a couple more chapters. Enjoy them while they last! Thanks for the wonderful reviews and I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to update soon! Oh, and if you're getting confused over BJ's age…you're not the only one! Sorry about that.**


	35. Another Beautiful Bride

**Chapter 35**

**July 4th, 1975 - Mill Valley**

Janie woke up and yawned, "That was _some_ party last night."The girls all slept in Erin's unoccupied room that was now a guestroom. Erin got a job in Wyoming as a veterinarian but came home for her brother's wedding. She was also one of BJ's bridesmaids.

"Who knew our moms could actually sing like that!?" Kimmie laughed sitting up in her sleeping bag.

"I know! My mom can hardly hold a tune most of the time, but last night was _awesome_!" The bride to be also sat up from where she slept on the twin size bed that was in the room. (Erin had insisted that she take the bed since she couldn't have back pains the day of her wedding). Last night at BJ's bachelorette party, the mothers of the girls had given a little 'show' and sang a few tunes. They had dressed up in their crazy disco clothes from not too long ago and had a blast singing for the party. They didn't even sound half bad! The party consisted of the bride, the bridesmaids: Honoria, Kimmie, Erin, and Katie; the maid of honor: Janie; a couple friends from Crabapple Cove High School and a couple from the University of Iowa, and of course the 'singing mothers'.

"So, everything's set up for the wedding, but it's not 'till tonight. What are we going to do all day?" Erin asked.

"I told Mom I'd spend some time with her today." BJ got up and threw on some clothes.

"Do we want to go to the beach then?" Honoria questioned anxiously, wanting to get back to the ocean.

"I guess we could do that. It'll be pretty busy though." Erin laughed. "Can I see if Leo wants to come?" Leo was Erin's fiancée. They were going to get married after he was done with med school.

"Sure! I'd _love_ to see that guy in a Speedo!" Kimmie blushed after sharing her thoughts. "Was that out loud?"

All of the girls laughed as a couple of pillows were thrown in fun.

**Later**

"Mom, what is it?" BJ sat with her mom at a small sidewalk café in San Francisco. She could see that Margaret's eyes were growing foggier and foggier.

"Oh, it's nothing Sweetheart." Margaret chuckled, quickly dabbing at her eyes.

"Mom…" She knew something was bothering her.

"Okay fine!" The blond laughed and reached over to take her daughter's hand that was on the top of the table. "I just can't believe that my little girl won't be living at home anymore."

"Me neither." BJ shook her head. "What will you do with my room anyway?" She asked, jokingly.

"Oh well, we were thinking about making it a rec. room. We'd put a pool table up there…maybe a foosball table…" The girl's mother laughed. "I'm just kidding," she added, seeing the stunned look on her daughter's face.

"Phew!" The bride-to-be sighed with relief. "I was afraid you'd been thinking about it for awhile!"

"Oh Honey, we probably won't be doing much with your room. We'll be too heartbroken about your leaving for awhile." Margaret looked a little sad.

"Mom, you know how Benji and I told you that he probably had a job in Boston already?" She asked. The future couple had talked to BJ's parents about where they would live and they thought they'd be living close by.

"Of course I remember!" BJ's mother laughed. "You couldn't believe you were going to have to live in Boston again!"

"Well uh…he didn't get that job." The girl with the dark black hair shook her head. Benji was interviewed for an office job at one of the big banks in 'Bean Town'.

"He didn't?" Margaret sounded surprised. "I thought that job was pretty much guaranteed for him."

"They decided that he'd be better here. In San Francisco…We're moving here." She dropped the bomb.

Margaret's shoulders drooped, hearing that her daughter would be living clear across the country. "Well that's good though, isn't it?" She tried to sound excited for her.

"It _is_ a nice city…" BJ looked around at the buildings. "We've already looked at apartments and we picked one out that's about a block down from here. Benji was taking care of the paperwork for it last night. We'll be moving in in about two weeks." She took a set of keys from her pocket. "But, I have the keys if you want to go see it."

"I'd like that." The girl's mother put the money on the table for the coffee they had had and followed BJ down the street.

"It's this one." BJ opened the door to a large building. The foyer was small with granite floors. The walls were yellowed with age and the staircase spiraled to the center of the room. Looking up the stairs, you could see the first floor of apartments. Behind the stairs were a couple chairs, metal mailboxes that were built into the wall, and an elevator. "Come on." The two women went over to the elevator and stepped inside. "It's on the eighth floor so I thought we should take the elevator instead of the stairs." She laughed.

"Probably a good idea." Margaret laughed. "So how do you feel about all this, living so far away from home…?" She broke the silence at the fourth floor.

"I guess I'm okay with it…Makes me pretty nervous though." She shrugged, putting her hair behind her ears. "I didn't know how I was going to do it when I went to college, but this time I'll have Benji, so I'll still be with family."

"Just remember that there's a phone you can use." The older woman gave her daughter a supportive hug.

"I'll remember." The 21-year-old hugged her mom back. The elevator doors opened to a bright colored hallway and they went over to a door that had 812 in black letters.

"This is nice." They looked around the small, one bedroom apartment. Margaret smiled reassuringly at BJ who was biting her lip like she did whenever she was nervous.

"Really?"

"Of course! And that view!" The blond went over to the big window and pulled the curtains back.

"That's what made me want this place." BJ grinned, folding her arms and looking out at the view of the Golden Gate Bridge. "Benji wanted it because his office will be right there." She pointed to the building across the street.

"You excited to start moving in?"

"Very much so." With that, the two women talked for a long time about BJ and Benji's future in San Francisco. At about five o'clock, they made their way back to the Hunnicutts' house, to get ready for the wedding.

**Four Hours Later**

Janie, Honoria, Kimmie, Erin, and Katie were all ready and waiting in the living room with the ushers, Charlotte (the flower girl), and Hawkeye. The bride and the bride's mother were upstairs in the guest room, still getting ready.

"Okay, let me look at you!" Margaret eyed her daughter, excitedly. Tears were welling up in her eyes again. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks." BJ smiled back. She wore a beautiful, strapless, dress with a long veil and train. "Doesn't seem like it's been that long ago that _I_ said that to you." She laughed.

"Doesn't seem possible that it's been over eight years." Margaret shook her head, drying the happy tears that slipped out of her eyes.

"Well, looks like everyone's ready." BJ went over to the window and looked out at the backyard, where everything was set up. Benji and Charlie were at the alter with Father Mulcahy and the guests (mainly the 4077th's former staff members and their families) sat in the white chairs.

"But are _you_ ready?" The girl's mother asked.

"Sure am!" The bride smiled excitedly. "Let's go." With that, the two women walked down the stairs.

"I'll see you out there Honey." Margaret kissed her daughter on the cheek and gave her a hug.

"See ya!"

"Doodlebug, you look beautiful." Hawkeye held his arm out for her to link onto.

"Thanks Dad."

The ushers and bridesmaids lined up and Charlotte was the first one out the door, down the porch steps, and down the aisle, dropping rose pedals on the ground. Soon, the others walked down the aisle and waited at the alter before everyone stood as the wedding march began. The eyes were all focused on the door before BJ and Hawkeye appeared on the porch.

"So I was right: Hawkeye _did_ get to pay for the wedding between those two." BJ Hunnicutt leaned over and whispered into his wife's ear. Peg reached up and patted her husband's cheek.

"Who would've thought that I'd get to see my granddaughter's wedding?" Daniel sighed.

Margaret turned around to look at the older man, "Oh don't say that, you're still young." She smiled.

"Oh I know _that_." He winked, "Just," he thought carefully about his words, "who, a little more than eight years ago, would have thought that I'd even _have_ grandchildren!?" Margaret smiled and looked back at her daughter and husband. Hawkeye's smile showed just how proud and happy he was.

After a couple minutes of slowly walking down the aisle, the two finally made it to the alter.

"Who gives the bride away?" Father Mulcahy was really kind of showing his age, his hair completely grey.

"I do." Hawkeye smiled. His pitch black hair had a few more grays in it than before. He jokingly said it was because of the kids. Father Mulcahy nodded and Hawkeye let go of his daughter's hand and kissed her on the cheek before taking a seat next to his wife and kids. Margaret's eyes were a little red with joyful tears so he reached over and squeezed her knee with affection.

"We are gathered here today for a little case of Déjà Vu." The padre smiled in amusement while the rest of the crowd chuckled at the statement. "We are here to witness the unity of these two, wonderful, inspirational people."

The proud mother of the bride watched in astonishment. Soon, the words began to run together as she got lost in thought…

"_Mommy, Mommy!" Eight year old BJ Houlihan ran into the kitchen where Margaret was working on some paperwork late at night._

"_BJ what are you doing up?" She asked, wondering if there was something wrong._

"_I figured out what I want to be for Halloween this year!" The girl in her feet pajamas exclaimed excitedly._

"_Well, if you needed to come tell me at midnight it _must_ be good!" Margaret laughed._

"_It _is_! I want to be a bride for Halloween!"_

"_A _bride_?" The girl's mother laughed. "That's a great idea sweetheart." She got up from the dining room chair and bent down to the girl's height. "You will be a beautiful bride…when you are one for _real_ too!" She messed up BJ's black hair before grabbing her hand. "What do you say we get you back to bed?"_

"_Can I have some water first?" BJ asked._

"_Sure." Margaret got a small glass of water and handed it to the little girl._

"_Thanks!" She smiled sweetly before drinking the water. "_Now_ I can go to bed."_

"_Okay, let's go." They walked up the stairs and into the small room. BJ crawled in bed and Margaret tucked her in. "Someday you really _are_ going to make a beautiful bride, you know? And the other boys are going to be so jealous of the man you marry." She smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead._

"_Eww! Boys have cooties!" BJ stuck her tongue out in disgust._

"_Yes, yes they do." Margaret nodded and walked towards the door. "Just promise me one thing." She told her daughter._

"_What's that?" _

"_You won't grow up too fast." The nurse smiled and blew a kiss that BJ 'caught'. "Goodnight." She turned the light off and closed the door so a little light would shine through…_

"Do you Beatrice Jane Pierce, take this man, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" Father Mulcahy's question brought Margaret back into reality.

"I do." BJ smiled up at her (almost) husband.

"And do you, Benjamin Franklin Hunnicutt, take this woman, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

"Definitely." Benji chuckled along with everyone else.

"Who has the rings?" The priest asked.

"Here you go Father." Charlie Hunnicutt handed the Padre the rings and, after he blessed them, Francis gave BJ's to Benji and vice versa.

"Repeat after me:" he looked at the man, "with this ring, I thee wed."

Benji did as instructed and repeated the phrase, "With this ring, I thee wed." He then slipped it on BJ's finger, the diamond shining.

"And Beatrice, repeat after me as well: with this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed." BJ's smile was a mile wide and she was becoming a little breathless as she was closer and closer to becoming _Mrs. Hunnicutt_.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Benji, you may now kiss your bride." Father Mulcahy closed his bible and smiled as the happy couple kissed…and kissed…and kissed.

"Like Mother like daughter." Hawkeye whispered in his wife's ear.

"My little baby…" Margaret cried, but had a proud smile on her face.

"My baby…" Peg was also crying with joy. Her husband wrapped his arm around her and kissed the side of her head.

Before the newlyweds were done kissing, a huge firework went off overhead. Beatrice _Hunnicutt_ pulled away a little, "It seems like there's always fireworks when I kiss you!"

"There are for me too." Benji dipped her low and kissed her some more. When they 'came up for air', they walked down the aisle hand in hand.

Everyone had a wonderful time at the reception. There was lots of dancing (along with the traditional father-daughter dance), singing, eating, some drinking, and the usual Independence Day festivities. The cake was cut at about midnight and before Benji and BJ went off on their honeymoon, the bride had one more thing to do.

"Where are you going with that?" Janie asked as the newlyweds started towards their new car. (A very nice wedding gift from BJ and Peg).

"You know, it's really not nice to call my husband an 'it'." BJ teased her best friend.

"I'm talking about your bouquet. You can't leave with that! You have to throw it to us!" Janie laughed.

"Oh yeah!" The brand new bride smiled and got up on a chair. "Okay bridesmaids, gather 'round!" She called. "Ready?" She asked when they all stood behind her.

"Come on! Throw it!" Kimmie called impatiently.

"Alright, alright!" BJ laughed. "Here goes!" And with that, she threw her bouquet behind her, then turned around to see what she thought would be a big cat fight. Instead she laughed when she saw that Janie had caught it and was now running from the others.

The grooms best man started running after the bride's maid of honor. When he caught her, he asked, "Got any plans for that?!"

"Not that I know of!" Janie laughed, looking up at the tall, single, Hunnicutt twin that she had always had a 'fancy' for.

"Good." And with that, Charlie dipped the red head down and gave her a kiss that she would not soon forget. Everyone laughed as they watched, but soon directed their attention to the happy couple that would be leaving for the San Francisco International Airport where they would catch the red eye flight to London, England for their honeymoon.

"You take care of her, okay?" Hawkeye hugged his son-in-law.

"Will do sir." He smiled. When his father-in-law gave a small groan, he corrected himself, "Sorry, Hawkeye."

"That's better." Hawkeye grinned as he switched spots with his best friend to hug his daughter. "You have fun kiddo."

"We will Daddy." BJ hugged her father back. "I love you."

"I love you too." He hugged her tighter, not sure he really wanted to let go of his daughter. Even though he _knew_ it wasn't forever, he still felt like she was slipping through his fingers. When he finally let go, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his former colleague/best friend. "Guess we're family now, huh?" Hawkeye had considered BJ a brother for _years_ but now they really _were_ like family.

"We sure are!" BJ laughed, "So uh…later, who's going to have the 'spoiling grandpa' job?"

Hawkeye's eyes grew wide, "I hope that can wait awhile!"

"Just wanted to get some business out of the way…" He laughed, "No, I'm sure it'll be a while before they have kids. At least I would hope. They need to settle down a little first! Plus, we're not even _close_ to being old enough to be grandparents!"

"My sentiments exactly!" Hawkeye chuckled.

After everyone said their goodbyes, the newlyweds were off to the airport. A month later, they were all moved into their apartment. Benji was doing great at his job, and BJ (who was now being called Beatrice since there 'couldn't' be two BJ Hunnicutts in the same state!) had a great job at a publishing house. And all was going well…

**Sadly, this story is coming down to it's final stretch! Stay tuned for the finale sometime this week! Hope you've liked the story so far! Thanks for the wonderful reviews! I **_**would**_** however like some more! CLICK! Oh and sorry if BJ's bachelorette party sounded like the one in 'Mamma Mia'. I am on SUCH a 'movie high' right now and couldn't stop thinking about it! **


	36. More and More Surprises Keep on Coming

__

Here it is! The final chapter! I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Before I get mushy, I just want to say how honored I am, what with a lot of people adding this to their favorites and everyone leaving such nice reviews! Thank you so much! I'm not really one for self confidence and I'd just like to say that all of your reviews and suggestions and everything have really helped with that! So, without further ado, here you go! The 'Goodbye Farwell and Amen' of

Stuck in the Cove_! Hope you like it. (Okay so it won't be as _good

_as 'Goodbye Farewell and Amen', but what is?! Lol)_****

Chapter 36

Benji Hunnicutt yawned from where he sat on the small couch in the small living room of the small apartment he shared with his wife. He had been married to Beatrice for almost two wonderful years and they had lived in the same apartment, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge for the duration of their marriage. They were saving up to buy a house in Mill Valley, close to Benji's parents' but the prices kept going up and no matter how much they saved, it seemed like it just wasn't enough. His job at the bank was going pretty smoothly, however and Beatrice's job at the publishing house seemed the same. She was still getting a lot out of 'Stuck in the Cove' and had written a couple children's stories. (The main characters being the 'Crazy Quads' and their little sister, Charlie) They were doing okay, but it seemed like they were always working.

Beatrice was working at the desk under the window, typing on the same typewriter that her father had given her all those years ago for their first Christmas together. She looked back at her absolutely gorgeous husband and chuckled, "Tired?"

"Very much so." He looked down at his watch and saw that it was close to midnight. "I have to get up early tomorrow. Big meeting." Benji sighed.

"I'm about ready to go to bed, myself." The former Pierce girl, now Hunnicutt, wore her dark black hair up in a pony tail. Even in braids, her hair still reached the lower part of her back. She grabbed the hair tie and pulled it out, leaving her long hair draped on her shoulder. She then got up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and do her usual 'before bed' routine. After she was done, Benji got in the small bathroom to take care of _his_ routine and walked into their bedroom. His wife was wearing her beautiful white night gown, who's silky material was perfect for cuddling, it was so soft. He turned off the light, jumped into bed, and hugged her tight.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." Beatrice smiled.

Within minutes, Benji was fast asleep. The beautiful, dark haired, woman watched him sleep peacefully for a few minutes before she laid a soft kiss on his forehead. She carefully eased out of his arms and went over to the seat by the window, watching the familiar night time scene. She gazed up at the sky. It didn't actually get all that black, more like a soft pink all the time due to all the lights. She sighed, remembering how much she'd love to see stars again. A small smile spread across her face, realizing that it wouldn't be long until she and Benji would be going back to Crabapple Cove for the traditional Fourth Of July reunion and, now, anniversary party.

She took her eyes away from the window for a moment when she heard rustling behind her.

Benji had rolled over and pulled the sheet up a little more. He was now far away in dream land…

__

"Come on Benji! It's your last night of freedom!" Charlie Hunnicutt motioned for his brother to get into the car with all the other guys.

"You happen to be talking about my

daughter's_ future husband here!" Hawkeye teased his soon to be _son-in-law's

_brother._

"Exactly what I said, 'his last night of being miserable without a woman there all the time'!" The groom's best man shot back.

"Nice save." The father of the bride winked.

"So where are we headed now?" BJ Hunnicutt asked his son. Everyone was a little tipsy and was having a LOT of fun with Benji's stag party. It was a good thing they could call for cabs in the big city of San Francisco. No one was really fit to drive.

"What do you say Benji?!" Charlie asked his twin.

"Can we go back to that bar where the waitresses wore those-" Benji was cut off before he could voice the rest of his question.

"Easy Benji!" Hawkeye chuckled, "That was the

last

_time you are allowed to be in one of those bars! You're going to be a married man tomorrow!"_

"Oh well, I've got the girl of my dreams…" A little bit of a lovesick look spread across the grooms face.

"That's right! You're done looking now!" His father nodded.

"That place

was

_incredible though!" Johnny O'Reily's smile was from ear to ear._

Benji woke up, laughing a little. That had been _quite_ the bachelor party he had had. He turned back over and noticed that his wife wasn't in bed. He sat up and saw Beatrice by the window and heard her softly crying. "Bea?" He got up and knelt down by the chair that his wife was sitting on. "Hormones?" He asked, teasingly when she looked down and met his eyes.

She laughed, dabbing at her tears. "Benji, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean that whenever I cry it's hormones."

"Sorry." He stood up and held his hand out for her to grab onto. They went over to the bed and sat on the edge. "What's the matter Honey?" He kissed the tears away.

"I've just been thinking a lot about this town, and how we're living right now." She sighed, looking down at her stomach. She was only about a month along and didn't really _look_ pregnant. "I know this is practically your hometown…" Beatrice spoke quietly, voice a little shaky, "And I know how much you loved growing up next to such a big city…and your job is here…and my job is here…but, I don't know if I want to raise kids here."

Benji pulled her into a tighter embrace as she cried on his shoulder. "Shhh…I understand completely." He whispered back. "Kids in the city seem to have to grow up faster, and they should have a back yard to play in."

"And they should know what the stars actually look like…and not the ones in the movies." She laughed. "I was born in a big city like this and, to be honest, I didn't really like it. I mean I thought I did until mom and I moved to Maine. Then I realized just how much I loved being in a small town. People are nicer, kids can stay kids for awhile longer, everyone has a back yard…I could just go on and on." The expecting mother shrugged. "But, your job is here, and mine is here and there's not a lot we can do about it right now…"

"This apartment won't be big enough for the little one." Benji placed a loving hand on his wife's stomach.

"Yeah, but we've tried looking for houses…they're too expensive. We'd never be able to afford one here." Beatrice sighed, "Sometimes I just wish we could _stay_ in Maine when we go visit next week." She moved over to lay down on her side of the bed.

"You know, houses are a lot more expensive _here_ than they are _there_." Benji smiled mischievously.

BJ laughed, "We have great jobs _here_ though."

"Yes, but _your_ writing you could do anywhere, and there _are_ banks in Crabapple Cove."

"Are you trying to say something?" She cocked her head to the side in question.

"Of course I am!" His voice raised a little in excitement. "Beej, ever since I first started visiting your dad and grandpa in the summer with my family when I was little, I never really wanted to leave that place. Just because I was raised by this city doesn't mean I especially want to stay here forever. I _love_ Crabapple Cove very much and it's a beautiful town! Plus this little guy could be with his or her aunts and uncles that really won't be much older than him or her. And we wouldn't have to travel all the way across the country to see your family." Benji was excited now, thinking of all these plans.

"But Benji, what about _your_ family? What about your mom and dad? What about Charlie or Erin?"

"Well…" He hadn't thought much about that.

"Sleep on it?" Beatrice laughed, patting her husband's shoulder.

"I guess so…" Benji sounded a little disappointed.

****

July 2nd, 1978

"Here we are!" Benji had just driven their red, 1972 Ford Gran Torino into the driveway of the Pierce home. Before the car was even in park, the ten year old quadruplets and six year old Charlotte were running to the car, waiting to give their big sister a hug. Beatrice got out as fast as she could and hugged them each excitedly.

"Oooh! I've missed you so much!" They pulled her in for a group hug. After it broke, she picked up her baby sister and headed for the house, her husband and little siblings following close behind. "Where are mom and dad and grandpa?" She asked.

"They're out back." Maggie took her sister's free hand and pulled her towards the back door.

The back yard didn't look like there was going to be a reunion. There weren't the usual tents or anything like that. Just a couple tables. The family had grown so much that their guest rooms had changed into separate bedroom for each of the kids and the guests would all be staying at the local hotel that had done some major renovations. It used to be a horrible place to stay, but now it was one of the nicest places in New England.

"BEATRICE!!" Margaret ran from where she was at the end of one of the tables, setting up for the company that would be there later.

"Mom!" She set her little sister down and ran down the steps to meet her mother in a warm hug. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too." She hugged back. Margaret pulled away a little. "Wait a minute, there's something different about you!" The blond tried to figure out what was 'different'. "You're glowing!? What's going on!?" She asked, excited.

"Nothing's going _on,_ Mother." BJ laughed. She and Benji hadn't told anyone that they were having a baby yet.

"There's my girl!!" Hawkeye went over to his daughter and gave her a big hug, picking her up off the ground and twirling her around a little. "Man I've missed you!"

"Daddy!" She squealed with joy.

"So, how is my big _grown up_ girl?" He asked, laughing.

"I'm great Dad!"

"How ya doin' Benji?" He went over to greet his son-in-law as well.

"Just peachy Hawkeye!" He laughed, "Thought I was going to say 'Sir' again, didn't you!"

"Oh no, you're getting better at that!"

"Hi Grandpa!" Beatrice went over to her grandfather that was sitting in a lawn chair and bent down to give him a hug.

"Hey there Kiddo. Long time no see!" He laughed and got up. "So uh…" He whispered to make sure no one would hear, "what's the story behind the glowing?"

She looked at him with a little shock, "Nothing Grandpa!" She laughed.

"Uh hu…" Daniel nodded, not truly believing that it was 'nothing'.

After awhile of talking, Margaret looked at her son-in-law. "So Benji, I thought your parents were going to come with you?" They had all been wondering why the other Hunnicutts weren't there yet.

"They were going to, but Dad was called to work at the ER so they decided they'd come tomorrow instead." Benji replied.

"Well shoot, I needed to talk to your father about something before everyone else got here." Hawkeye hit his knee. "Oh well, I can ask him about it tomorrow."

"What were you going to ask him?" Beatrice asked her father.

"Well, I gave your father complete ownership of my little practice." Daniel took a seat by his oldest grandchild and soon Charlotte came to sit on his lap, "And, he was just wondering if Dr. Hunnicutt would want to work there with him."

"Well I wasn't going to tell anyone yet!" Hawkeye laughed. "But, that's the main gist of it."

"That's great!" Benji smiled, "Hawkeye, that's wonderful!" He turned to his wife, "Honey, can I see you in the kitchen for a moment?"

"Uh, sure." Beatrice got up and followed him into the house. "What is it?"

"Okay, I know my dad. He's going to take that job offer! He's wanted to work in a little clinic forever but never thought there was anything better for him to be doing that working at that hospital! That means that Mom and Dad will be _here_. That means that if we _were_ to move here, our child would have both of it's grandparents around! And, knowing Charlie, for quite literally all my life, I know he'll follow mom and dad too! The whole family will be here! Except for Erin and Leo of course, but then we'd have an excuse to get to Wyoming once in awhile." Benji paced across the floor.

The young woman laughed at her husband. "Honey, would you just relax for a minute?" She was shocked to see how much he wanted to live in this small, but beautiful, town. She went over to his awaiting arms, "We could go house hunting this week…"

"Should we?"

"Why not?!" BJ threw her arms around the man and kissed him, excitedly.

Later that day, everyone had arrived except for BJ and Peg. Charlie had actually been in Boston with Janie for two weeks, but no one had really known about it. They had arrived together awhile after the Winchesters had and were sure flirting an awful lot.

****

The Next Day

"Beej! It's great to see you!" Hawkeye greeted his best friend. "You too Peg! You're looking wonderful this afternoon." He smiled, helping them with their bags. The Pierces _did_ have a hide-a-bed in the den that the Hunnicutts were more than happy to use. (The hotel was now booked with all of the Fourth of July tourists)

"It's great to see you too Hawk!" The man returned the embrace.

"You're too kind Dr. Pierce, but I _do_ think you might need glasses!" Peg teased the man. They laughed as they went through the house and into the den where they set the suitcases on the bed. Before the three of them went out back to where everyone else was, Hawkeye had something he needed to ask them. Well, BJ in particular.

"Hey, can I ask you two something in private?" Hawkeye stepped in front of the doorway before they could get through.

"Yeah, of course." BJ laughed, seeing the look on his best friend's face told him that it _had_ to be good.

"What is it Hawk?" Peg asked.

"Well, my dad gave me his private practice and I need another doctor. Well, the only person I'd ever _think_ to ask is sitting in this very room and I'm just hoping he'll say yes…" He smiled mischievously.

"Hawkeye!" BJ chuckled, taking it all in. "That's _some_ job offer." He smiled.

"We _have_ wanted to move here since we started coming when the kids were little…" Peg looked at her husband, hope in her eyes.

"I _have_ wanted to work in a clinic for a long time." BJ nodded. He looked back at his wife before giving the dark haired man the answer. When she nodded in approval, he stood up and shook his best friend's hand. "You've got yourself a new doctor!"

"Haha! This will be great!" The two former, and now future, business partners shared a quick embrace. Then Hawkeye gave Peg another hug.

"It sure will." She said in his shoulder.

"Well, should we go tell everyone?" BJ asked the other two.

"Why not?!" And with that, they left the den and went out to the backyard to join the rest.

****

The Backyard

Beatrice was playing with her little brothers and sisters. They were chasing her around and laughing and having a wonderful time. Pretty soon, they caught up to her and tackled her. After awhile of laughing, Beatrice sat up, her little siblings sprawled out on the ground either on top, below, or beside her. "Can I tell you guys a secret?" She asked.

"Yeah! What is it?!" Maggie asked excitedly.

"What about you guys?" BJ asked her other siblings. They all nodded. "Are you sure?" She asked again, knowing it would drive them nuts.

"Of course we're sure, now what is it?!" Danny sounded mildly exasperated.

"Well," She looked behind her to make sure no one was coming or would hear them, then looked at the quadruplets, "remember how, awhile before Charlie came, Mom had a big bump right here?" Beatrice pointed to her stomach. When they nodded again, she continued, "Well, _I'm _gonna have one of those bumps in not too long." She smiled.

"You're having a baby!!" Henry caught on fast, but was also a little loud with his question. The crowd got a little quieter, but no one showed any signs of hearing the news.

"Shhh…I don't want anyone to know yet, alright?" She held a finger up to her mouth. "You promised not to tell anyone remember?"

"We remember." They told their big sister.

"Good." Beatrice got up and held out her hand for whoever wanted to grab onto it as they walked back to the crowd of people at the tables.

"Hey everyone, we have a little announcement!" Hawkeye stepped out of the back door and called to the guests.

"What is it Pierce?" Charles Winchester asked.

"Well Chuckles, I just got offered a very good job!" BJ smiled from ear to ear. "We're going to move here, to Crabapple Cove, and I'm going to be Hawkeye's assistant doctor!"

"_Assistant_?!" Hawkeye sounded amused, "What's the _assistant_ stuff? I never said that! You'll be one of the main doctors bozo!" He teased.

"Really?!" BJ thought that the job offer was good before, but now he thought it was out of this world.

"I told ya!" Benji leaned over to whisper in Beatrice's ear. She just smiled back at him, knowing what they would be doing the next day.

****

The Fourth of July!

It was about eight o'clock at night and everyone was gathered around the tables in the back yard of the Pierce home. Some were still chomping away on their burgers or hotdogs that had been barbequed by Klinger and Radar while some were gathered around Beatrice, looking at her and Benji's wedding album.

"You were beautiful Beej." Janie looked over her shoulder.

"Thanks." Beatrice blushed a little. She looked down at the picture of her and Benji at the alter. She loved that dress and still had it in the back of her closet in San Francisco and would never get rid of it. It was strapless with a long white train and little white sequins on the front, creating a little flower design. Her hair was pulled back in the half pony tail that she wore quite often. Only this time, she had two small, jewel incrusted clips in the front. "You know, I hope I have a girl someday so I can give that dress to her." She didn't say anything about it not being _long_ until she might have a little girl.

"So Margaret," Peg asked her friend with a teasing smile, "who's going to be the 'spoiling grandmother'?"

"Me of course!" Margaret laughed.

"Oh yeah?!" Peg shot back. "Hmm…I guess we'll just have to see about that."

Charlotte had heard the conversation from where she was chasing her big brothers. She ran over to her mom. "Hey Squirt." Margaret bent down to pick up her youngest daughter. She looked so cute in her white dress with the little red, white, and blue stars everywhere.

"Are you going to be a grandma?" The little girl asked.

"_Someday_." The little girl's mother nodded. "At least I hope."

"What would that make me?"

"You'd be an aunt."

"You mean I'd turn into one of those icky things on the ground?!" Charlotte looked worried, not wanting to become something that could easily be burnt with a magnifying glass.

"No, Honey," Everyone laughed as the beautiful blonde explained what an aunt was. "You know how my sisters are your aunts?" When the little girl nodded, she continued, "Well you're Beatrice's sister so therefore you would be an aunt to her kids and so would Danny, Max, Maggie, and Henry."

"Oh, that makes sense." Charlie nodded. "But I really don't think you'll have to wait _that_ long to be a grandma." Her mother set her down and she went back over to playing with the other kids. Benji had now gone over to help Charlotte chase her big brothers. They were having a lot of fun, even if they _did_ look rather silly.

"What did she mean by that?" Peg asked her daughter-in-law, a confused looked spreading across her beautiful face.

"Yeah…is that glow being _caused_ by something?" Margaret's smile was from ear to ear.

"I don't know what you two are talking about. You know little kids, they say some pretty strange things." Beatrice hurried to take a drink of her soda to occupy her mouth so her smile wouldn't give her away.

"Come on Beej! Is the Major's minor expecting a minor of her own?" Honoria asked excitedly.

The expecting mother just shrugged, making the people around her even more curious. "We'll see." She had her father's sense of humor when it came to not telling people what they really wanted to know right away.

At about ten o'clock, the fireworks started and everyone, even Margaret, enjoyed them. They seemed bigger and better than the years before.

"Whoa! Did you see that one!?" Charlotte asked her brother-in-law, whose lap she was sitting on.

"I don't know…" He played along. "How big was it?" Benji asked, enjoying the little girl's curiosity.

"It was about this big!" Charlie stretched her arms out.

"Wow, that's big!"

"I know! It was really big!"

Beatrice sat by her husband and little sister. She reached over and messed up the little girl's hair. "So, when are we going to tell them our news?" She asked Benji.

"After the fireworks?" He suggested.

"Sounds good to me." The girl with the dark hair laughed, "You know, it's kind of funny…_everyone's_ celebrating our anniversary!" They laughed.

"Happy anniversary Honey." Benji leaned over to kiss his wife.

"Eww!!" Charlotte shrieked.

"Feel left out?" Beatrice asked, jokingly.

"Nope, I'm glad I'm left out!" The little girl hid her eyes before she'd have to see more kissing.

"Did you hear that?" Hawkeye leaned over to voice his question in Margaret's ear. "It sounded like they have some _news_ to share!"

"I have a feeling I know what it is." Margaret smiled knowingly.

The fireworks had gone on for about a half an hour. When they were done, everyone stayed around for awhile longer to mess around with the sparklers and smoke bombs down at the beach, but when they started to come up to the backyard again, Benji and Beatrice stopped them before they left for the hotel. Everyone sat back down anxiously at the tables, knowing that the two had a little announcement.

"So, we've been thinking for awhile about how we really don't want to live in San Francisco anymore." Benji started.

"But, we really kind of wanted to be near our parents and that was pretty much impossible, seeing as how mine were on the east coast and his were on the west coast." Beatrice continued.

"And now, seeing as how mom and dad," Benji shot a teasing look over to his twin brother, "and I'm guessing Charlie, will be coming to live here so Dad can work with Hawkeye at the clinic, we've decided that…" He put an arm around his wife's shoulders, "We're going to move here too." There were a few happy gasps from the parents and the siblings of the two people.

Beatrice went on, "We went with Peggy and BJ today when they went house hunting and we've found one of our own. We're pretty sure we'll get it and it's only about five minutes away from here." She had one more bomb to drop, "But, we hope that we'll be all settled in before the baby comes." She sat down quick and everyone else looked surprised. A few people started laughing happily.

"You _are_ pregnant! I knew it!" Margaret scurried over to her daughter to give her a hug.

Pretty soon, Beatrice was bombarded with hugs.

When things were settled down a little, Daniel stood up and raised his glass. "I'd just like to make a little toast."

"You'll need the toaster for that!" Hawkeye shot out.

"Hawkeye…" Daniel laughed.

"Yes Daddy?" The doctor asked, trying to sound like a little boy.

"Shut up." The crowd roared with laughter. When the noise went back down, Daniel continued. "I'd just like to say congratulations to my granddaughter and her husband and I guess now my _great_ granddaughter or _great _grandson." The old man shook his head a little, "You know…about eleven years ago, I never would have thought that my son here would ever find a wife." He looked down at his son and daughter-in-law. "But when he found her, I didn't know that I'd already have a fourteen year old granddaughter. Then I was shocked when I found out I'd be having _four_ more grandkids." There were a few chuckles and he continued, "and then little Charlie here came and I was made even happier." He shrugged, looking back at the big white house behind him. "I never thought that that house would be alive again. For the longest time it was just Hawkeye and me and…after my wife died, it just seemed way to quiet, even with Hawkeye there!" Everyone looked at Hawkeye and chuckled a little. "So, I guess the point is…I'd also like to say thank you for making the house noisy again, just like I like it!" He raised his glass, as did everyone else.

****

About Eight Months Later

Beatrice and Benji were able to get the house they had their eyes on and were now all settled down in the little town of Crabapple Cove. They were both very happy with their decision to move. Benji was managing the small bank on the edge of town and loved what he did. He didn't have to work _all_ the time like he had in San Francisco and could spend more time with his family. Beatrice was happy and healthy and about nine months pregnant. The baby's room was all decorated and ready for the baby to arrive.

It was now about three o'clock and Beatrice was working at her typewriter, trying to beat the deadline for her latest 'Crazy Quads and their sister Charlie' book. Benji came through the front door, a stressed look on his face. "Honey, what's wrong?" His wife got up, a sort of difficult task, and took his coat for him and put it in the closet. She gently drug him over to the couch and they sat down.

"I'm afraid I have some kind of bad news." He sighed.

"What is it?" Beatrice asked, a little worried.

"I have to go to Boston this weekend for a big meeting. There's really no way around it. It's either go, or loose my job." He sighed a little more.

"What's so bad about that? You love Boston."

"You're _due_ this weekend!" He laid a hand on her very rounded stomach. "I wanted to be there for you…"

"Hey," she covered his hand with hers and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry about it. Who knows? Maybe she'll come late."

"But what if _he_ doesn't?" Benji asked, very concerned yet sending her a teasing glance at their 'disputing of the baby's gender'.

"Then you'll just have to wait until the next day to see your son or daughter…I know that's not what you want, but you _have_ to go to that meeting." She sighed, "I want you there too, but if not going to this meeting could mean loosing your job, you should go…" Beatrice sat back into her husband's arms and he massaged her shoulders.

He just sighed again, really wanting to be there for the birth of their first child.

****

Friday - February 20, 1978 - 11:00 a.m.

"Mom! Dad! They're here!" Max called from the window in the living room. "Benji and Bea are here!"

He ran to the kitchen where Margaret was, and then off to the den where Hawkeye and Daniel were.

Margaret went to the front door and opened it before her daughter and son-in-law had even walked up half of the sidewalk. "Hey you two!" She called, waving from the porch.

"Hi Mom!" Beatrice sped up her pace and met her mom for a warm embrace on the steps.

"You're looking even better than the last time I saw you." Margaret smiled.

"Mom, I saw you yesterday!" The very pregnant woman laughed.

"That may all be, but you still look even more beautiful. Isn't that right Benji?" She asked her son-in-law.

"She sure is." He smiled lovingly at his wife.

"Come on, let's get you inside." Margaret put an arm around her daughter's shoulders and walked with her into the house, out of the cold February air. Hawkeye and Daniel came out of the den to say their hellos as well.

Benji could only stay for a few minutes before having to leave for Boston. He had to go to the first meeting at about five o'clock and, taking the interstate, he'd get there with about an hour to spare.

"Bye Benji." Beatrice wrapped her arms around her husband's neck after her parents and grandpa had already said their goodbyes to the man and left the two to be alone. Margaret had taken her Beatrice's bags up to her room for her.

"Goodbye Honey." The man with the dark blond hair gave her a tight, loving, hug and kissed her a few times. "I'll see you when I get back on Monday." He smiled sadly and looked down at her very pregnant belly. "And I'll be seeing you then too, but do your dad a favor and come late okay?"

The girl with the black hair laughed at her husband's conversation with their unborn child. "You'll be late for your meeting." She gently prodded.

"Right." He sighed. "I'll see you later." Benji kissed her quick before heading for the door, waving as he closed it behind him and drove off. His wife took a few steps near the door and cried a little as she watched his car go down the hill and out of sight.

"BJ, what's the matter?" Maggie came in to the living room that her big sister had 'migrated' to a couple hours ago. She went over to the couch to sit next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulder as best she could.

"Oh, nothing…I'm okay." She shrugged.

"Then why are you crying?" The ten year old asked.

"Well, because the baby will probably come in the next couple of days here and Benji won't be there to see it right away." She tried to explain.

"Oh…" Maggie nodded in understanding.

"Hey you two," their mother appeared at the doorway, "I just called Peg and she was wondering if you two and Charlie and I wanted to have a little 'girl's night out'. Your dad and grandpa could watch the boys and BJ's coming over to drop Peg off so he thought he'd stay. What do you say?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so…" The two daughters shrugged.

"Come on, we can do some last minute baby shopping." She motioned for them to follow her.

****

5:30 p.m.

"So, where do we want to eat?" Peg asked from the passenger seat of the station wagon.

"I don't care." Beatrice seemed much happier now that her mind had been temporarily taken off of the fact that Benji was in Boston at the moment.

"Can we go to the diner?" Charlie asked from where she sat by her big sister.

"That's fine by me." Margaret nodded. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Peg had nodded in agreement. Knowing that her oldest daughter was always in the mood for the diner's 'fine' food she asked Maggie and she more than willingly agreed.

It didn't take them long to get to the diner, seeing as how they were only a couple blocks away, but during the ride over there, Beatrice had a couple little pains in her abdomen. She didn't exactly think anything of them though. When the car was parked, the five girls got out of the car and went up to the diner, got a place to sit, and ordered their suppers.

They had been talking for about an hour before Margaret voiced the question, "So Peg, how do you like living in our little town?" The brunette was fast becoming her best friend.

"Oh, you know I love it." Peg laughed, eating the last of her fries.

"Well it'll be great when our grandbaby comes, we'll both be right here to spoil it!" The blonde laughed along with Beatrice. Maggie and Charlie were lost in their own conversation at their table close by. The future grandmothers, however, noticed that the expecting mother seemed to be rather sidetracked. Her face was twisted in pain, but it wasn't all that easy to see considering she was looking the other way. "Honey?" Margaret reached across the table and grabbed her daughter's hand. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Uh, I think that your grandbaby won't be waiting for it's father to come home before it makes its appearance." She said when she could talk, the pain subsiding a little.

"We better get you to the hospital." Peg slid out of the booth and helped her daughter-in-law to her feet.

"Come on girls." Margaret called to her young daughters, her voice a little shaky with nerves.

"But Mommy-" Charlie started to object.

"No buts, we have to go." She motioned for them to come and they did obediently. "Now go out to the car and tell Peggy to wait for me, okay?"

"Okay." Maggie nodded. They then ran out the door and to the car where Peg was helping Beatrice into the passenger seat before getting into the backseat.

"Here you go Janice, keep the change! We have to get Bea to the hospital." Margaret put a twenty on the counter and made a mad dash to the car, hopped in, and sped to the hospital.

Charlie leaned over to ask Maggie something, her face depicting just how scared she was for her big sister. "Don't worry Charlie, I think it's time for our niece or nephew to come." She smiled. "Right?" Maggie asked her mom.

"Right." The driver nodded and looked over at her daughter. "Don't hold it in Honey, breathe." She reached over and squeezed Beatrice's hand, trying to provide some comfort.

"I'm trying…" She replied, the pain intensifying fast.

****

Three Hours Later

"How the hell did you do this without painkillers…and _six times_ even?!" Beatrice screamed, clutching her mother's hand in the hospital room. She had been given the painkillers, but they didn't seem to be working.

"I have _no_ idea." Margaret chuckled, pushing the hair back that had fallen into her daughter's face. "But you'll be okay. You're a lot younger than I was when I had the quadruplets…and much younger than when I had Charlie." She winked. Bea laughed a little as the pain subsided.

"I just wish Benji would walk through that door." She sighed. Just then, the door opened to reveal another familiar face. Janie's. "Janie!"

"Hi!" The red head stepped in the room a little more. "I was in Portland with Charlie when his mom called to say that his little niece or nephew would be coming soon so we hightailed it outta there so we could come wait and worry in the waiting room with everyone." She smiled. "I just wondered if maybe you'd need some help?"

"Mom, why don't you go wait in the waiting room with dad and Benji's folks? I don't really want you to see me in pain…" She thought it might be a little awkward.

"If that's what you want." Margaret nodded, completely understanding. "Good luck." She bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks." Her daughter chuckled.

Two hours later, Hawkeye, Margaret, BJ, Peg, and Charlie (Hunnicutt) all sat in the waiting room nervously. Daniel had taken the kids home and was now anxiously waiting by the phone for news of his first great grandbaby. "I'm surprised we haven't heard anything yet." Margaret rubbed her eyes. "I hope nothing has happened."

"Margaret, everything will be fine." Hawkeye put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder, although he was pretty anxious too.

"I'm not sure I like being on this side of those doors…" Margaret sighed motioning towards the doors that lead to the delivery rooms.

Peg laughed a little, "BJ, I still can't believe you brought that thing here!" She looked over at the chair that was beside her husband's. On it was a huge, almost life sized, teddy bear.

"I think he's trying to make me look like the boring grandpa already." Hawkeye laughed, looking over at the slightly smaller bear that 'sat' in the next chair over by him.

****

Crabapple Cove Maternity Ward - Delivery Room

"Okay Mrs. Hunnicutt, one more push should do it!" Dr. Linly looked up from his spot at the end of the bed.

"Come on Beej, you can do it!" Janie's hand was getting rather sore, but she was still just as good of a cheerleader as ever.

"Agh!!" Beatrice screamed as she gave all of her might into the, hopefully, final push.

"Okay, make that one more this time!" The doctor helped to gently guide the baby out.

"You already said that!" The almost exhausted woman retorted.

"Sorry, this kid's got a big head." His eyes did the 'laughing' for him at his own joke. After another slight scream from Beatrice, the baby was out. "Here we go! It's a girl!" Dr. Linly held her up for the mother to see before cutting the cord and cleaning her off good.

Beatrice smiled and tried to catch her breath, laying back down against the pillows. She couldn't believe the pride and joy she felt when she got to _hold_ her little pride and joy for the first time.

"She's beautiful Bea." Janie looked down at the little girl in her best friend's arms.

"She has her father's eyes." The mother stated proudly, but then started tearing up some more, realizing that he wouldn't be able to see his daughter for a day or so. She started breathing harder though when she felt another intense pain rip through her abdomen.

"Beej?" Janie put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Bea, are you okay?"

"I don't know…I don't know, it feels like…agh!" She tried to stifle a scream, not wanting to scare her little daughter that she held, cuddled up to her.

"Dr. Linly!" Janie ran over to the doorway that the doctor had just slipped through, letting the 'family' be alone.

The aging doctor turned around and started jogging back, knowing something was wrong.

****

Back in the Waiting Room

"Did you hear that?" Margaret shot up and went over to the door that lead to the corridor where the delivery rooms were, and looked through the small window at the top.

"Hear what?" Charlie asked, everyone else too worried to hear anything.

"It sounded like Janie yelling for the doctor." The color flushed away from her face and Hawkeye got up and stood beside her. "Oh God." She sighed.

"Come here." Hawkeye lead his worried wife over to the chair she had been sitting in.

"I know I heard _something_ and it didn't sound good!" Margaret didn't think anyone believed her.

"Shh, I know. I believe you. But, we just have to wait until we get some news." The handsome Pierce man rubbed his wife's arms, providing some comfort, his heart in his throat with worry.

"I thought I had heard something too…" Peg said to herself.

****

Back in the delivery room

"Okay Bea, let's check you out and see what's going on." Dr. Linly took a look and smiled, comfortingly, at the woman who was still in a lot of pain. "Well, let's get this little lady to the nursery so you can take care of some more business ahead of you." A nurse came over and gently took the baby from Beatrice's arms, put her in a small cart, and wheeled her to the nursery.

"What's going on?!" Bea screamed in pain again.

"Well, you're still fully dilated and the contractions are coming regularly again." He started saying in a 'professional' tone.

"Why?" Janie voiced the question that was on both hers and Beatrice's minds.

"Because…" He pulled the mask back up over his face, "that little lady's brother or sister wants to come out too."

"What?!" The young mother asked in shock.

"You're having twins!" He laughed in surprise, "Now push!"

****

Two Hours Later (About Two O'clock in the Morning) - Waiting Room

"Okay, I _know_ it takes longer for the first baby to come but it's been _way_ too long." The now very anxious paternal grandfather got up and started pacing around the waiting room.

Peg was nervously knitting away, hoping that staying busy would keep her mind off of what was going on, but it wasn't working very well.

Margaret was also knitting away at some pink booties. She already had a blue pair made but decided that she could make a pink pair quick just in case it was a girl. (Peg had had the same thought and was doing the same thing, just to kill time)

Hawkeye was nervously flipping through an old magazine and checking his watch every thirty seconds.

At about 2:30 in the morning, the doors swung open to the waiting room. Although, they were the wrong doors to get any information from. Instead of coming from the side where the delivery rooms were, they had opened on the side where the other hallway was, connecting the maternity ward with the rest of the small hospital. Even though the new comer didn't bring news, he caused quite an uproar.

"Benji!" The man's father was the first to see him.

"Hi!" His look was of pure worry. "Mom called me at about seven this afternoon," he looked down at his watch, "okay _yesterday_ and said Bea went into labor and I came as soon as I could!" He tried to catch his breath like he had just got done running a marathon. Seeing everyone's confused looks as to why the man was there he continued, "A guy owed me a favor so I hopped on the next plane to Portland and drove home as fast as I could after yesterday's stupid meetings were over." Everyone was glad to see him and gave him hugs after he was done with the explanation. "So, do I have a son or a daughter yet?" He asked hopefully.

"We still haven't heard anything." Margaret shook her head sadly.

"Oh…" The expecting father didn't even have time to feel worried about _why _they hadn't been given any information before Dr. Linly came through the 'information' doors.

The doctor smiled at the family and pulled down his mask. "Morning everyone!" He called happily and then saw Benji. A confused look came onto his face. "Benji? I thought you were away on business?"

"I was." He nodded and urged the man to continue, "But, is there any news you'd like to share with us?!" He asked hopefully. Everyone stood in silence, waiting to hear what was going on.

"Well, you have a daughter." The nice doctor gave him the first wave of news. After the small crowd was done hugging and congratulating each other, he 'dropped the bomb' as it were and told them the rest of it. "Uh, actually people, there's something else you guys might want to know." His eyes twinkled in mischief. The room grew silent, not sure what to expect. "Well, I just thought you might like to know that there wasn't just _one_ girl…there are actually two." He laughed as everyone's eyes grew huge with amazement.

"Twins?!" The grandfathers were the first to recover.

"Well, that's another way of putting it." The doctor smiled again, loving the reactions he was getting.

"Can I see my daughters and my wife now?" Benji asked, smiling from ear to ear.

"But of course, follow me." Dr. Linly opened the door for Benji to follow. Janie stepped out at the same time.

"Hi everyone!" She sounded thoroughly excited.

The doctor lead the brand new father down the hall and to the room that they had just moved Beatrice and the babies to. "Here you go." He opened the door and Benji quietly walked through.

"Hi." Benji whispered his greetings, seeing that everyone was half asleep.

"Benji!" The new mother looked very surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain all of that later." He went over to the bed and sat by his wife and daughters. "I just had to come see for myself. I couldn't believe that my wife had just given birth to _twins_!" Benji whispered in a mock exasperated tone and then started cooing his children.

"I couldn't believe it myself." Beatrice chuckled, "No one _told_ me I was having twins."

"It does sort of make sense though…" Benji nodded.

"Oh?"

"Well think about it, I'm a twin, your grandpa Houlihan was a twin, your great uncles were triplets…and your mom had quadruplets…" He pointed out.

"Well, it _is_ a family trait most of the time." The proud mother nodded looking down at the two little girls in their soft, pink blankets.

"So what are we going to do about names? We had _one_ thought of." Benji asked.

"But what about the other one?" Beatrice asked, sounding tired.

"We can think about it tomorrow. You should get some rest." He kissed her forehead and, with a mischievous smile asked, "Do I get to hold my daughters yet?"

"Do you two want to let daddy hold you?" She quietly asked them, kissing each on their forehead. She carefully maneuvered the two babies in to her husband's arms and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to see you right away." Benji smiled proudly down at his children. "But…I'm your daddy."

****

Two Months Later

"I know I've told you a hundred times Bea, but I love the names you two thought of." Margaret was helping bathe her granddaughters.

"Thanks." Beatrice chuckled. The one she was bathing was named Peggy Hawkeye Hunnicutt and the one Margaret was bathing was Beejay Margaret Hunnicutt. (They decided to spell out 'Beejay' so she wouldn't be asked what the B and J stood for all the time like her grandpa was, by her other grandpa of course!)

Pretty soon, the doorbell rang. Beatrice grabbed a towel and wrapped it around little Peggy and went to answer the door. "Dad, you know you don't have to ring the doorbell." She shook her head in mock annoyance.

"Sorry." Hawkeye shrugged, teddy bears in hand. "I just thought it'd be easier to ring the doorbell with my nose than to try to open the door and drop all of these critters." His oldest daughter laughed, moving out of the way for her father to come in. He dropped the bears on the couch and held out his arms. "Can I hold my granddaughter?" He used the puppy dog eyes that his youngest daughter was 'teaching' him how to perfect.

"Only if you can figure out which one she is." Bea smiled.

"Oh that's easy…uh…" He thought for a moment, looking at the little girl in his daughter's arms. The twins were identical and a little difficult to tell apart. "Um…Is it Peggy?"

"Congratulations." The young mother handed her father the little baby.

"Hey you." Hawkeye cooed. "I brought you and your sister some more toys to play with."

"Honey, are you and BJ going to keep this competition going forever?" Margaret asked when she came out into the living room with little Beejay in her arms, looking over at the couch filled with stuffed bears.

"Maybe." Her husband shrugged jokingly. Changing the subject, he asked, "So we're having dinner here tonight right?"

"Yep." Beatrice nodded. "Your 'spoiling rival' and Peg said they'd pick grandpa and my little siblings up after work." She said excitedly. "Benji will be off work in awhile here." It was about five o'clock. "And supper's almost ready."

"Oooh, what are we having?" Hawkeye asked excitedly.

"Spaghetti." Margaret replied. She and Beatrice couldn't decide and had finally picked what everyone would agree on.

****

That Night

"Supper was pretty good tonight." Hawkeye laid in bed, waiting for Margaret to join him.

"Yeah it was." Margaret came out of the bathroom in her pajamas and yawned. "Well, I taught her well." She laughed.

"You sure did…Grandma!" He gave her a mischievous look as she crawled into his arms.

"I am _not_ old enough to be a grandmother! I just had a baby _six_ years ago!" She sighed, pretending to be mad at the man that just called her the title that she was given two months ago.

"Speak of that baby and here she is." Hawkeye heard the door open and didn't even have to look to know that it was Charlotte.

"What's the matter, Honey?" Margaret sat up, seeing that her youngest had tears in her eyes.

"I…I…" She sniffed, "I had a bad dream."

"Aw, come here." Her mother opened her arms and gave the little girl a big hug. "It's okay, mommy's got ya." She kissed the top of her head when Charlie cried on her shoulder. "What was the dream honey?"

"I…I…" The poor little girl was finding it hard to breathe, what with all of the crying she had done, "I dreamed that…that daddy had to go back to Korea…and it was just you and me and Danny and Max and Henry and Maggie and Grandpa…and it was really sad!"

"Oh Honey…" Hawkeye sat up and opened his arms for her to go to. "I'm not going to leave you guys….ever." He hugged her tight and kissed her on the head, keeping a hold of her and comforting her until she stopped crying.

"Daddy?"

"What is it Squirt?"

"Can I sleep in here with you and mom tonight?" She asked, using her puppy dog eyes.

"You'll have to ask your mom about that. She's pretty hard to convince." He threw a teasing glance over to his wife. With this, he got a playful swat on the shoulder.

"Of course you can Honey." Margaret pulled the blankets up so Charlie could crawl under them. She curled up next to her mother.

"Hey mommy?" The little girl asked in a small, almost scared voice, "You're not going anywhere either are you?"

"No Honey, I'm not going anywhere either." The blonde ran her fingers through Charlie's thick, black hair.

"Good." She yawned, nodding off to sleep.

"Goodnight Ben." Margaret reached over the sleeping girl to give her husband a kiss.

"Night…Grandma." He teased her.

****

Four Years Later

Janie and Charlie had a double wedding with Honoria and her, now, husband in Boston. He was a very handsome man named Alex, the son of one of the doctors at Massachusetts General. Beatrice was both Janie's and Honoria's maid of honor and was now toasting the happy couples. Beatrice stood up where she sat by Benji (Charlie's best man) and started her toast. "I'd just like to say that I'm very glad that my best friend is a part of the family now!" She motioned towards Janie. "And my other best friend, who, since I found out left Janie and me in that tiny little town I now call home for a good reason, I've considered family. I'd just like to tell you both how glad I am to know you and that you've been the best friends a girl could ever ask for. And Charlie, I'm glad, and I'm sure your parents are too, that you're finally moving out of the nest!" Everyone laughed.

"It's true!" BJ Hunnicutt called out jokingly.

"Ah, who asked you?!" He shot back, laughing.

"Getting back to this little speech I had prepared…" Beatrice laughed and everyone quieted back down. "I'd just like to thank Honoria especially since, if it wasn't for her, I don't know what would have happened to me. I wouldn't have met my father or grandfather or husband or my little siblings or anyone and probably wouldn't have had two beautiful girls!" She smiled at her two four year olds who wore matching pink dresses, "And I definitely wouldn't have been here giving this speech right now because we would have probably still hated each other. And also thanks to Janie who got me this gig." She winked. "I don't think I've told you this enough, but ever since we were five you've been my best friend and I really do love you…both"

"Thanks Bea." The two brides raised their glasses in admiration.

"You're welcome." She smiled as she took a drink and sat back down.

"I have a toast too." Honoria got up and held her glass. "I'd just like to thank all of you." She smiled to the crowd. Again, it was mainly the former members of the 4077th and their families, along with some more family friends and Alex's family, as well as Jim O'Donnell and his wife and two kids. "Those of you who served with my father at the 4077th, you have kept him strong for all these years, even after mom died. And, you've become a part of my family as well. I can't tell you how much you all mean to me…"

"Me too." Janie stood up. "When Jim got drafted to Vietnam, I would have been lost without your support. And, after he got back…you helped him become himself again. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for that." She shrugged. There were a few more toasts that night, more to the grooms.

That night, during the father-daughter dance, Honoria danced with Charles while Janie danced with her brother, seeing as how her father had died quite some time ago. Benji danced with his two little girls while Beatrice danced with Hawkeye.

"Dad?" The beautiful woman with the long black hair had her head on her father's shoulder.

"Yeah?" Hawkeye replied, moving back a little so he could see his daughter's face.

"Thanks…for everything. I don't think I tell you that enough and I really should…" Her eyes grew a little teary.

"You say it enough." Hawkeye chuckled, hugging his daughter warmly.

"Well I'll say it again then. Thank you." She laughed. "I can't tell you what life would have been like if I hadn't have been stuck in Maine and you didn't help Janie and I at the diner. Mom never would have been as happy as she has been in the past fifteen years. And I probably wouldn't have been either…in fact I _know_ I wouldn't have been." She put her head back on his shoulder. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too Doodlebug." Hawkeye replied, tears in his eyes.

****

Epilogue

Hawkeye and Margaret had 14 beautiful grandchildren as the years went on. Sadly, Daniel only got to see three of his great grandchildren and died a year after Danielle Pierce Hunnicutt (she was named after her great grandfather) was born in '87. He was 98.

Peg and BJ Hunnicutt had eight grandkids and BJ and Hawkeye never gave up their 'battle of the spoiling grandfathers'.

As for everyone else goes: They all lived happily ever after…

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOThe EndOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

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****

If it wasn't exactly the ending you were hoping for, I'm sorry but I thought I did okay. Right? Hope so! Thanks to New York Gal I made this chapter really long. I thought it fit since Goodbye Farewell and Amen was two and a half hours long and the finale to MASH, that the finale to Stuck in the Cove should be just as long! Haha. Thank you so much for all of the nice reviews that you've given this story and thanks to all of you who have added me to your favorites! That means a LOT! I'd like to dedicate this story to Maggie. (AKA: Attheswamp) I'm not really sure what happened to her and her stories on this site, but one day they just disappeared! She was the one who encouraged me to keep writing when I thought the story was going down hill and she gave me TONS of good ideas! So, wherever you are Maggie, THANKS!

I'd also like to say thank you to Lissy. (AKA: Music Sweet Music) For helping me through the rough patches of my story too. So, thanks so much and I really appreciate everything you've done! And here's to you too, Bev! (AKA: Coasttocoast)

NOW: OFF TO CAMP FOSTER!! YAY! (Sorry, but I'm EXTREMELY excited!)


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